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 73 year old Irving Greenfield has been writing for more than 50 years. He is a Korean War Veteran and was in the Merchant Marine. He has written close to 400 books and several of his plays have been produced off, off Broadway. He has been married for over 50 years, and has one son and two grandchildren. He currently teaches at Wagner College.
Neela Sakaria: Thank you for joining us, Mr. Greenfield. I enjoyed reading Only the Dead Speak Russian. Can you please tell us how you began your writing career?
Irving Greenfield: I began my writing career by writing pornographic novels. Every book had 12 chapters with a major sex scene in each chapter. The book had to have a story line. From creating the story lines for those books, I learned to plot and write believable sex scenes.
Neela: How and when did you begin writing Only the Dead Speak Russian? What was the inspiration for this story? What kind of historical research went into it?
IG: Only the Dead Speak Russian took better than 30 years to write. The idea for the story came from two different sources. The first -- there is no mention in The Bible of what happened to Moses' staff. The second -- the fathers of my childhood friends told stories about what Russia was like prior to, during, and after the revolution of 1917. The title is my way of paying tribute to them. Yes, I did have to do research for the book. But, some of the facts were altered to fit my fantasy.
NS: The story is told in both the third and first person, with chapters focusing on different points of view. (reminiscent of Faulkner -- was he an inspiration at all?) There is also a sort of "time travel" feeling as the chapters cross decades. Why did you choose to tell the story in this way? Did the publisher have any objection to your unconventional methods?
IG: Faulkner wasn't an inspiration. There is a time warp in the book because the narrator moves back and forth in time. He is the nexus between the two stories and the two time elements. I needed to bring the past and present together. To do that, I had to have a storyteller. The publisher did not object to the structure I used. If he had, I would have pulled the book.
NS: There are few female characters in the story, and Valeria is clearly the most significant one. She is strong in her own way, and also very complex. Tell us more about Valeria's character. What was the inspiration for her character? What do you feel is her importance in the story?
IG: Valeria is Circe to Uri. She teaches him to make love to a woman. She is not a particularly nice person. But she is there to help change a boy into a man. She also represents the decadence of the Russian court.
NS: The dream sequences which include Moses and God are very interesting (especially the one including Henry Fonda and others). The dialogue is especially enjoyable, in that you use modern language. Why did you choose to do so?
IG: I needed to have a God that was recognizably "human," so I gave him a very human voice.
NS: Your book Tagget was turned into a film for TV. Would you ever consider doing the same thing with Only the Dead Speak Russian? It seems that it could lend itself nicely to being told on screen.
IG: I would love to have Only the Dead Speak Russian turned into a film. But it would be a very expensive one to produce. I don't think Hollywood would be interested in taking on a project with the kind of structure that I created for the novel.
NS: At the end of the novel, Mordecai says "Yes, it is done. I have sung one brief song, told one small story of my people." In many ways he is the voice, the narrator, the storyteller. It seems that his statement could apply to you as well, as the author of this book. Do you feel that way?
IG: By saying those words at the end of the novel, Mordecai echoes the beginning of the great epic poems. Only the Dead Speak Russian is my contribution of the story and the myths of the Hebrew people. Perhaps, the ending does apply to me.
NS: How much time do you spend on your writing? Do you have a daily ritual?
IG: I spend a great deal of time writing. I am a morning person, therefore I write in the morning. I used to begin at 4am, but my age has forced me to slow down. I'm in my office at the college at 7am and I write until 8:30 or 9:00. Then I go back to it for a while after class.
NS: Thank you for taking the time to speak with us. Is there anything else you'd like to share with our readers?
IG: To all the people out there who want to write, the only way to do it is to do it. And the best of luck with your work
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