The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 07, 1984, Page 10, Image 10
Professor fight
By Chris Handal
Nobody ever said publishing a novel was p||
But then nobody said it was supposed to
take more than six years of rejections, acceptances,
deaths, corporate takeovers, more re
jtxuuus aim linauy, anoiner acceptance.
Although this may sound like the plot for
an evening soap opera, it is the process Ben
Greer has gone through with his third novel,
tentatively titled "Time Loves a Hero."
THE NOVEL had a tumultuous beginninn
r.roor o I CnJlrl, U~ t " V
vjiwi, u uijv- L^ii^usii piuicssui, aaiu 11c wg^\
visited a wealthy family in the East to discuss , ?
plans for a film of his second novel, "Hallo- r
ween" (no relation to John Carpenter's
films). JP
Life with the rich took its toll on the Columbia
author. "I could have been
psychologically destroyed by living with the
family. Near the end, I was living in a log
cabin in the woods without heat, electricity
or running water. I wanted to stay up there
so bad I was vomiting blood," he said in an he <
interview two years ago. this
Though no film resulted from the trip, Ir
Greer examined what he calls his psychic the
scars and started writing "Times Loves a Frar
Hero" in 1978. fuse
"In the spring of 1979. I submitted 150
pages of this novel to an editor who had T1
bouehf mv other twn hnnks " shmi
agre<
THE EDITOR was not pleased with what H<
he read. According to Greer the editor called gooc
the effort a "mistake, a misstep and a that
misfire." recei
"I was horrified," Greer said. "I was agre<
depressed beyond words. Th
"I went to a monastery in Georgia where L wort
go occasionally. I talked to Brother Paul and revis
b .Bh B t " I
vto&Htt jr0ffb
Give me that ole time rock Y roll
USC students compete in the airband competition at th
The Stones win ai
By Morris Massre tior
An enthusiastic crowd piled into the out
Golden Spur Monday night for the third of dot
four air band contests. nig
The Stones, the winners of the competi- unc
tion, won $40 and earned a chance to com- C
pete with seven other bands in the finals. Th<
Twelve bands competed to impress the par
Spur's audience. Band members used thii
anything from bicycle pumps to manne- this
quins as musical instruments, and mimick- I
ed songs such as "Private Idaho" by the ly.
B-52's and "Jump" by Van Halen. The sho
crowd was pleased with most of the perfor- mei
mances, but did not hesitate to heckle nee
hanHc nnl annpalino tr* thpm cr?r?
Mrrvv,....e ^ avu
Afier more than three hours of competi- sinj
tion, the judges reached a decision. In ihiid 1
place was Throbbing Members, who put on Pla
one of the more energetic performances. tioi
They had a good idea of what today's the
rock'n'roll image is really like and dressed per:
properly for the occasion. They also had a C
good mix of rock music. clu<
Capturing the runner-up spot was Men r0(
Without Pants. The band had a poor selec- Her
s uphill battle
Photo by Barbara Zammit
>aid, 'You just have to understand that A co
is just God's will.*" favorat
i other words, Greer was told to give up agent,
novel. "I came back to USC and told money
lklin Ashley about it and he blew a ween."
." excited.
HE TWO argued about whether Greer BUT
ild continue with the novel. Finally Greer to chai
ed to send it to one more publisher. ChaDin
e chose Delacorte, and it seemed like a No. 2 i
I choice. "That editor liked it so much and die
she gave me five times the advance I had came d<
ved for my first two books." Dell also
;d to publish the novel in paperback. A 40le
novel, however, needed a good deal of of busii
and Greer spent the next three years in New
ing it. 4<I tli
f ^ 1 ,
recen t ly
MHflj ccssful i
' :1 ' busy tli
|p| educatic
v crea
? 'IWW1"1" - ^ M as cruci
^ ^HER
the won
Photo by Bryant Smith Addr
e Golden Spur realized
from th
nor's o
rknnrl X. Chrisur
ludiiu uunitisi , Drefh
tor ot
i of music, but the audience got a kick gram, t<
of their humorous antics. They un- a
ibtedly had the most original act of the awaren<
;ht. They performed in their ^ast
lergarments. $3,500
'apturing first place were the Stones. Theatre
;se were not the real Stones, but for the ^er- ^
t . TM
lying crowci tncy were the next best i ncairc
lg. Concert-goers got a real treat out of
; air band. 1 .
^he Stones acted out their parts brilliant- s"e s.a,(
Unlike most of the other bands, their creatinj
nThi
w seemed planned and organized. Each . 1
mber of the band had the imagination a'
ded to portray the actual Stones, and before
U ~ A i ? i FnP
v. may nave swuill inc 1CUC1 *"v
?er was Mick Jagger. variety
wo bands who deserve mention are the puppet
te Tectonics and the Doors of Percep- ^ast
. m-.- T
i. me i-iaic tectonics uia a taKeott ot l,,v;
B-52's, and the Doors of Perception imdonated
the Doors. Confidi
)ther air bands in the competition in- g,r' w*,(
Jed the Maggots, the Agents, Romper out *?'
3m, the Pranksters, Metapause, the
diets and Pure Sterling. E
women
to publish th
Dell a
? \ editor
) Gre
I right i
inis nc
EV1
ent to a monastery in Georgia ?ew e
I go occasionally. I talked to treat i
?r Paul and he said, ''you just , Thc
sour
o understand that this is God's WOrke
Aft
Greer
? USC professor to pui
Ben Greer vik
jected
no. 1
J Arehe
"SI
10 or
nine c
implete draft of the novel received She
?le reactions. Victor Chapin, Greer's Greer
told Greer the book would make revisir
unlike "Slammer" and "Hallo- ed in
Greer's editor at Delacorte was Gre
will n
year.
GREER'S good fortunes were about I'm sr
ige. "Within three months Victor I thin
died in his sleep," Greer said. The Gr<
nan in the agency developed cancer appre
d while the new man in the agency work
"\il/n tirtf Vi o lit rrtt* /-J
w/vYAi wini a nvv^i uiouiuci auu lciucu.
AN
year-old literary agency was now out some!
less and Greer had no representative Provi
York. allow;
en called my editor and found out phras
>C theater insti
lotinitu tn fJfim
*uiiviiy in ill ail
hci next dramatic
fivitv in ciir-h u;nrV ic
v * * 4 * ** v>? I t\ 1J
NEW cause is somewhat of a sur- said i:
nee Dreher did not decide to focus on younj
use in the way she deliberately chose model
t the classic Greek melodrama about Stil
nen of Troy. provk
essing this latest social problem was "W
, she said, when a representative ing S'
e Public Safety Division of the gover- depre:
ffice contacted her just before the Aft
las holidays. idea c
;r said Ritchie Tidwell, deputy direc- "The
the division's criminal justice proilephoned
to ask if she could put on a tt__,
imed at boosting third-graders'
;ss of child abuse. tlon a
year, the program had spent about one gI
to present a troupe called Illusion {
, and money was tight, Tidwell told u
>reher thought of her Children's child
: class and said OK. severa
.31 Il(
EY DIDN'T know about the class," schoo
J. "They just knew I had facility in
I scripts.
s is the first time I've made up my
?out exactly what we were going to do three
the class even started."
instructor's course has spawned a I)R
of presentations ? for example, a forms
show of Homer's "The Odyssey." sexual
year, with only seven, women enroll- "T1
students came up with a feminist play to st<
Idle-schoolers called "The T-shirt of teache
snce." The show concerned a young "W
3 is ostracized when she decides to try stage
the school football team. we're
minim
> SEMFSTKR seven men and seven "It
are taking the course, which Dreher was cl
ird novel !
nd Delacorte had been bought and my
had been let go ? fired."
er was told everything would be all
and only an outside chance existed that
>vel wouldn't be published,
ERYTHING WASN'T all right. The
ditor rejected the book. "I said, 'OK, 1
o into a suicidal depression or I can
t as a challenge.'"
>ugh Greer said this decision may
id like philosophical bromide," it
:d for him.
er spending a few days depressed,
said he started resubmitting the book
blishers.
ing kept it three months and then reit.
Dutton kept it six weeks and said
rhen Greer sent the novel to Shay
;art at Doubleday.
IE KEPT it three and half months and
11 editors read the book and eight or
>f them were solidly for it."
gave him the news in early February,
said he has about two more months of
lg and then the book should be publishMav
r?r Tnnp r?f 1QRS
er said he is not upset that his novel
ot be in bookstores for more than a
"Well, it's not so hard now because
nelling blood. It is not difficult because
k it's the best book I've written." j
:er described his first two novels as his
nticeship. "This book is where my
begins. I'm really delighted."
ID GREER said he has learned
:hing from this experience. "Maybe
dence is so vast and so intricate that it
s for free will and predestination. In a
_ u : i.! 1 J! -1 1
c, 11 a inysiicai uicnoiomy.
ructor adds
na 'causes'
m : ]
I Ann Dreher
With her Children's Theatre
class, the USC instructor is
creating an educational play
about child abuse for presentation
to area third-graders in late
s important because the boys in their
[ audiences "need guys as role
Is."
I, she cautioned, the horror of the topic
ied an unusual challenge for her class,
e got so depressed when we started doome
scenes we decided it was too
ssing for third-graders," she said,
er much debate, the group hit upon the
if fflchtrtnino a nn tnloi/icinn'r
Gong Show."
E'VE CREATED through improvisat
this point," Dreher said. "So while
oup is playing it out, another group of
; is madly taking notes."
"gong" gimmick will be used to mark
abuse as unacceptable behavior in
il sketches or vignettes, she said.
:e the play won't be presented at area
Is until late April, however, work is
lUUIg VJI1 IIIC SCI lpi .
e're not sure yet whether we're going
the panelists or we're going to select
kids from the audience," she said.
EHER SAID the show will touch on all
of child abuse ? physical, mental and
? as well as child neglect.
iv ua.->ic ?uai is 10 gei me aouseu cniid
ip forward and get help from a
r," she said.
e're aiming for about 30 minutes" of
time, the instructor said. "Of course,
trying to keep the technical work to a
um so the show can be more portable,
hink it's flattering that our department
losen for this."