TitleTales

Interview: Francisco X. Stork

Francisco X. Stork was born in Monterrey, Mexico, and moved to the United States when he was nine. He studied Latin American literature at Harvard before completing a law degree at Columbia University. Publishers Weekly praised his first novel, The Way Of The Jaguar, as a “splendidly intense debut.” His second book, Behind The Eyes, was selected as both a Commended title for the Americas Award and a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age. His latest novel, The Last Summer of the Death Warriors, will be released in March 2010.

Francisco works as an attorney for an affordable-housing agency in Massachusetts. He lives near Boston with his wife.

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BWI: Your latest book, The Last Summer of the Death Warriors, looks at death and life through the eyes of Pancho, a teen trying to manage the violence in his life, and D.Q., a teen with cancer who is trying to live his remaining days as if he wasn’t sick, to live according to the Death Warrior’s Manifesto that he wrote. What was the inspiration for the book? Were the characters based on people that you have known?

FXS: My initial inspiration came from a re-reading of Don Quixote (something I do every five years or so to remind me of what writing is all about). As in Don Quixote, I wanted to create a story about two very different persons who transform each other in the course of their relationship. The characters are not based on any one real person. I don’t know exactly how their personalities and voices came to me. Perhaps they represent different sides of my own personality.

BWI: The book also deals with faith—who has true faith, in whom or what is it “correct” to place your faith. How much of your own feelings are shared by the characters? Is it hard to write about this issue without becoming didactic?

FXS: I share with D.Q. a search for a faith that is more than just words or beliefs; a faith that is experienced with all my heart, body and soul. At the same time, I envy Pancho’s simple, unquestioning kind of faith. It’s not hard for me to write about this without becoming didactic since I don’t have any answers myself. My emphasis is always on creating real characters who are concerned with the big questions in life. But the characters come first and the questions are always embodied in the characters.

BWI: The setting of the book is very well drawn, and an integral part of the story. Have you spent time in New Mexico? Why did you decide to place the story there?

FXS: I grew up in El Paso, Texas, which is close to Las Cruces and Albuquerque where the story takes place. I thought a desert-like terrain was a good background for a book that deals with essential values. I also wanted to have a strong Hispanic presence.

BWI: What would you like a librarian to say about The Last Summer of the Death Warriors when handing it to a reader?

FXS: “This book will stay with you forever.”

BWI: Your previous book, Marcelo in the Real World, is quite different from your other books. It features a main character with a developmental disorder, has some mystery and has a lighter feel than your other books. Was this intentional? How do you feel about the book’s success?

FXS: Prior to writing Marcelo in the Real World, I had published two other books which in many ways prepared me for writing books like Marcelo and The Last Summer of the Death Warriors—books that I hope have that lighter touch that you mention. A light touch is very difficult to achieve and I work very hard at it. It gives me great joy to see Marcelo touching so many people.

BWI: You mention on your Web site that you have been asked to speak at various Asperger’s Syndrome organizations as a result of having written Marcelo in the Real World. How much did you know about Asperger’s Syndrome and autistic spectrum disorders before beginning the research for the novel? Do you have an opinion on the current proposal to remove Asperger’s as a name in the DSM revision in favor of an autism spectrum?

FXS: I didn’t know too much about Aspergers before Marcelo. Marcelo started out as the story of a very special young man who had certain characteristics which I later discovered were similar to AS. It was then that I began to read all I could on AS and interview young people. When I was in college I lived for a year in a home for non-neurotypical young people and I’m sure that some of them were on the autistic spectrum. So I also drew on that experience when writing Marcelo. I’m not sure I know enough to give you an opinion on whether AS should be removed from the DSM. I do know from what I read that the original distinction of AS from autism made sense to me because AS had certain characteristics that distinguished it from the general autism symptoms.

BWI: Do you have a lot of interaction with teenagers? What kind of responses do you get from them about your books?

FXS: Every year I help with our church’s confirmation class. I don’t talk much about my books with the young people in the class because I want them to see me primarily as a mentor. But I do get emails from kids across the country and I treasure these.

BWI: Just from reading your short biographical essay it sounds as if you have led a fascinating life! At Harvard you studied with Octavio Paz, the Mexican Nobel Laureate. What was it like to learn from him, and what influence, if any, did he have on your writing?

FXS: I was very intimidated by him at first, but every once in a while I would take a giant risk and propose a view different than his. He was kind in his response. I wish I had gotten closer to him, but I was always afraid to take up his time. I always admired his versatility (poetry, fiction, nonfiction) and his willingness to tackle universal themes.

BWI: You also say of the Latin American Literature program at Harvard University that at the time you were in the program you thought, “..the emphasis on scholarly research and writing seemed too remote and irrelevant to all that was important.” Have your views changed since becoming an author?

FXS: At that time, I felt that way about scholarly research dealing with literature. Obviously there is much scholarly research that is extremely relevant and important. Scholarly research about literature is good if that research reaches the student through teaching or the lay reader through accessibility of the writing. If the research is simply something that other scholars read, I still don’t see its relevance or importance.

BWI: For many years you have been an attorney for a state agency that develops affordable housing. Was your career choice a result of your childhood experiences in El Paso?

FXS: I wish I could say it was. But working for a state agency that develops affordable housing was the result of finally finding a legal job where I was able to be myself. The job kind of chose me. But maybe the reason that it’s a good fit has to do with my experiences growing up in the public housing projects in El Paso.

BWI: How do you find the time to continue your work as an attorney in addition to your writing and speaking engagements?

FXS: It is very hard. My job as a lawyer requires concentration, so when I get home my brain cells want to go on strike. Still, if I can get an hour a day of writing and work a few hours on weekends, eventually a book comes out. My ideal situation would be to write in the morning and then have some kind of teaching job in the afternoon.

BWI: Why do you think readers seek fiction? Why do you write fiction?

FXS: There are different kinds of fiction so there are different reasons why readers seek it. Probably the one common denominator is that through fiction the reader enters the world of the book. I write fiction because I like to tell stories and make up characters and invent all kinds of things, and because, as Flannery O’Connor said, it’s worse when I don’t!

BWI: In another interview, you mentioned that it might be fun to write for a much younger child. What type of stories would you want to present to a younger audience?

FXS: If I ever wrote for a younger child, I would let myself loose and write a fantasy.

BWI: What are you working on now?

FXS: I’m working on a young adult novel where the main characters are two young women. All I can tell you is that it is very challenging. Fortunately, I have a very good editor in Cheryl Klein of Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic who is making sure I get it right.

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