An interview with B. Craig Grafton
What is, in your opinion, the best thing (or your favourite thing) that you’ve ever written? Tell us about it.
My favourite is Twenty First Century American Fairy Tales. The title of which speaks for itself. And which is my book of course and available on Amazon.
Who are your favourite writers, and what influences your writing?
I have no favourite. I don't let somebody else influence me because I don't want to be a clone of someone else. I try to be original.
What are your hobbies?
At this time I am hobbyless. I used to fly high flying tumbling pigeons.
Describe yourself as if you are a character in one of your own stories / poems.
A lot of my stories are about old people which is what I am.
Tell us something crazy.
The attached story is a crazy thing I did in my younger years:
When I was a young man and had graduated high school I belonged to a church in a local rural farming community. I had gone to Sunday School there from an early age and on the Sunday morning right after graduation the minister there, Reverend Wright, called us recent graduates to come up to the front with him and tell us what we were going to do with our lives now that we had graduated. So we went up and joined him. He congratulated us and said how proud the church was of all of us. Then he started with the graduate to my far right and asked him what his plans were. The nervous young man eventually got it out that he was going to State University to study agriculture and come back and carry on farming with his father on the family farm. Well that was certainly a respectable profession for a farming community now wasn’t it. Everyone nodded their heads in approval. Then he asked the next student what her plans were. She too had high family goals she said and was going to go to nursing school and become a nurse like her mother. Everyone nodded their heads in approval to that too. The next graduate was a young woman who said she was going to be a teacher because she enjoyed working with children. Again that met with the congregation’s approval. But the graduate after her topped them all and said he was going to be an engineer because he loved the challenge of figuring things out and hoped that someday he could solve world problems. What those world problems were he didn’t elaborate on but since it was quite a lofty goal he got the highest approval rating yet.
Then it was my turn. I was the last one and I was known as the class clown by my fellow graduates but not by the congregation. Though they were soon to find out. Therefore I knew that my fellow classmates would expect me to be true to form even if I was in church. So in response to the nice, polite, generic, bland question posed by Reverend Wright of, ‘What are you going to do with your life now young man?’ I just had to give him a somewhat spiced up juicy answer. So without hesitation and a straight laced face I spoke up and said, “I’m going to reform school.”
The congregation, mainly of old farmers and old farmer’s wives, just could not hold in their laughter and they all burst out laughing. Burst out laughing in church of all places, committing a sacrilege in the Lord’s House. Reverend Wright didn’t have a comeback. Didn’t know what to say and he stood there flat footed speechless with his mouth open. The former sourdough faces of the congregation alive now with giggles finally did get themselves under control and quieted down. Then Reverend Wright immediately called out, “Let us pray.” The Temple of God came to order again having sacrificed its dignity.
After church, outside and away from the reverend, a couple of craggy faced old farmers came up to me and kind of in a roundabout sort of way congratulated me for they all were in agreement that the Reverend Wright could be quite dull and boring at times and said that they appreciated my comment to kind of break up the monotony of his droning on. That a laugh in church was a good thing sometimes and not necessarily a sin.
I went on to law school, it’s kind of like reform school in a way, and became a lawyer, and I cracked ‘em up in court a time or two with my objections and summations even though I never had intended to when I said whatever I said. For whatever I had said, I had said in all seriousness and not to get a laugh. But it got a laugh nevertheless. Oh well that’s just me I guess. That’s who I am, a funny funny young man.
What’s the weirdest question you’ve ever been asked in an interview? And what did you answer?
Since this is my first interview, this question is the weirdest and thus my answer.
What is your writing set-up? (E.g. your garden shed, a café etc.) and are there any things you must have to get the words to flow, e.g. a lucky hat or a favourite shirt?
I compose pretty much everyday in my easy chair from 4:30 to 7:00 a.m.
My favourite is Twenty First Century American Fairy Tales. The title of which speaks for itself. And which is my book of course and available on Amazon.
Who are your favourite writers, and what influences your writing?
I have no favourite. I don't let somebody else influence me because I don't want to be a clone of someone else. I try to be original.
What are your hobbies?
At this time I am hobbyless. I used to fly high flying tumbling pigeons.
Describe yourself as if you are a character in one of your own stories / poems.
A lot of my stories are about old people which is what I am.
Tell us something crazy.
The attached story is a crazy thing I did in my younger years:
When I was a young man and had graduated high school I belonged to a church in a local rural farming community. I had gone to Sunday School there from an early age and on the Sunday morning right after graduation the minister there, Reverend Wright, called us recent graduates to come up to the front with him and tell us what we were going to do with our lives now that we had graduated. So we went up and joined him. He congratulated us and said how proud the church was of all of us. Then he started with the graduate to my far right and asked him what his plans were. The nervous young man eventually got it out that he was going to State University to study agriculture and come back and carry on farming with his father on the family farm. Well that was certainly a respectable profession for a farming community now wasn’t it. Everyone nodded their heads in approval. Then he asked the next student what her plans were. She too had high family goals she said and was going to go to nursing school and become a nurse like her mother. Everyone nodded their heads in approval to that too. The next graduate was a young woman who said she was going to be a teacher because she enjoyed working with children. Again that met with the congregation’s approval. But the graduate after her topped them all and said he was going to be an engineer because he loved the challenge of figuring things out and hoped that someday he could solve world problems. What those world problems were he didn’t elaborate on but since it was quite a lofty goal he got the highest approval rating yet.
Then it was my turn. I was the last one and I was known as the class clown by my fellow graduates but not by the congregation. Though they were soon to find out. Therefore I knew that my fellow classmates would expect me to be true to form even if I was in church. So in response to the nice, polite, generic, bland question posed by Reverend Wright of, ‘What are you going to do with your life now young man?’ I just had to give him a somewhat spiced up juicy answer. So without hesitation and a straight laced face I spoke up and said, “I’m going to reform school.”
The congregation, mainly of old farmers and old farmer’s wives, just could not hold in their laughter and they all burst out laughing. Burst out laughing in church of all places, committing a sacrilege in the Lord’s House. Reverend Wright didn’t have a comeback. Didn’t know what to say and he stood there flat footed speechless with his mouth open. The former sourdough faces of the congregation alive now with giggles finally did get themselves under control and quieted down. Then Reverend Wright immediately called out, “Let us pray.” The Temple of God came to order again having sacrificed its dignity.
After church, outside and away from the reverend, a couple of craggy faced old farmers came up to me and kind of in a roundabout sort of way congratulated me for they all were in agreement that the Reverend Wright could be quite dull and boring at times and said that they appreciated my comment to kind of break up the monotony of his droning on. That a laugh in church was a good thing sometimes and not necessarily a sin.
I went on to law school, it’s kind of like reform school in a way, and became a lawyer, and I cracked ‘em up in court a time or two with my objections and summations even though I never had intended to when I said whatever I said. For whatever I had said, I had said in all seriousness and not to get a laugh. But it got a laugh nevertheless. Oh well that’s just me I guess. That’s who I am, a funny funny young man.
What’s the weirdest question you’ve ever been asked in an interview? And what did you answer?
Since this is my first interview, this question is the weirdest and thus my answer.
What is your writing set-up? (E.g. your garden shed, a café etc.) and are there any things you must have to get the words to flow, e.g. a lucky hat or a favourite shirt?
I compose pretty much everyday in my easy chair from 4:30 to 7:00 a.m.