English
professor wins prestigious literary award
By
Porschia Baker
On-line Forty-Niner
Anonymity
is no longer a word that Suzanne Greenberg
can use to describe herself.
Greenberg
has many lives: associate professor of
English at Cal State Long Beach, mother,
wife, award-winning author. Her new book,
"Speed-Walk and Other Short Stories,"
is not her first, but it is the first
book to win her a major literary award.
Selected
from 300 entries, Greenberg is the 23rd
winner for the "2003 Drue Heinz Literature
Prize" the most prestigious prize
for a short story collection.
When Greenberg first heard that she had
won the prize from a message that was
left on her answering machine she said
that she thought it was some kind of long-winded
joke.
"I didn't believe it for months,"
said Greenberg with a smile.
The
collection includes stories such as "Speed
Walk," "A Good Bet" and
"Fumes." All of the stories
reflect elements of Greenberg's own life
and past events that may have happened.
"We were not a particular religious
family," said Greenberg referring
to her years growing up in a non-practicing
Jewish family.
Characters
like a nameless man, who nearly breaks
down in the mall because of the smell
of a bucket of chicken legs that reminds
him of his deceased wife; Ada, a grandmother
that likes to listen to her heart beat
with a stethoscope and Walden, a man who
is coerced into selling his childhood
home by his wife all appear in the collection.
Prior
to winning this award Greenberg's work
had appeared here in publications with
small readerships, such as the Mississippi
Review Web Edition, Turnstile, Washington
Post Magazine, and the George Mason Review.
She
was able to retain some type of anonymity.
However, this time around her collection
won her some serious recognition and with
that comes 2,000 copies that will hit
the shelves.
"Now,
I am not anonymous," she said.
"She
brings honor to our department and university,"
said Eileen Klink, chairwoman of the English
department. "We are so pleased."
In
college, while studying English at Hampshire
College, she made the shift from writing
poems to short stories.
"In
college I decided to write a 300-page
novel. It was a great experience,"
she said. "When I write stories,
I feel a different impulse."
She
came to the department in 1995, and even
though she wanted to be a writer first,
she seems to enjoy everyday spent at CSULB.
"I
really like teaching here. Every time
I go class I read some great stories and
I am so amazed."
Julie
Adele, a senior double majoring in literature
and creative writing, is one of Greenberg's
students. Adele said in class Greenberg
helps her discover her strong points in
writing.
"She's
really wise," said Adele. "She
allows us to learn."
So
how does Greenberg balance her life as
a professor, mother, wife, author and
all the likes?
"I
do not always balance it that well,"
she said.
Some
parts of her life take more time than
others, such as her time with her three
children and husband, who is also an author.
Despite this, Greenberg does manage to
write and work on her literary pieces
at least one hour a day.
"I
think that if I am not writing the world
seems flat," she said. "[It
keeps me] more alert."
Greenberg
said her new book is her strongest collection,
however, she said that it was just as
likely that another writer could have
come out on top.
Event
Listing
What:
"Speed-Walking and Other Short Stories"
intimate reading with Suzanne Greenberg
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
Where: University Library 5th Floor, 1250
Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach CA
