Adaptation

Suzan-Lori Parks 'In the Blood' is an adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter'. I am sure most of you have read it--if not I'm sure you're familiar with the story. I had to read it not once, not twice, but THREE times in my academic career.

Adaptation is sort of like sampling--like that used in hip hop. You take something old and you make something new.

Last semester, I wrote an adaptation of Sherwood Anderson's 'Winesburg, Ohio'. It felt weird at first. Like I was stealing his work. I decided to familiarize myself with all things Sherwood Anderson. For months, I read his diaries, letters, bios about him, most of his short stories and novels. Adaptation wasn't stealing at all--it was more like a collaboration (between me and a dead man).

I don't like to hear writers complain about being "blocked" or having nothing to write about. There are stories everywhere. Read a newspaper. Read a history book. Or explore the works in public domain that are there for you to sample (literally). We will hopefully get around to doing an adaptation exercise (using Shakespeare Sonnets) sometime next week.

I hope you enjoy the reading.