Tag: Contemporary Fiction

Halsey Street: A Brooklyn Story about Loss, Gentrification, and Relationships

Photo by Josh Wilburne on Unsplash

By Jennifer Ward

As we approach Thanksgiving and the holidays, I wanted to write about a novel I read that focuses a lot on the intricacies of family relationships. When I pick up a new book and begin reading, a few things I look for are strong characters, a compelling setting, and poignant themes. Three years ago, I stumbled upon a beautifully-written book with all these qualities and more.

As a woman born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, I was immediately drawn to Naima Coster’s debut novel, Halsey Street. I had a feeling I would love her book, and I was right. Her contemporary fiction story introduces Penelope Grand, a young woman moving from Philadelphia back to her old neighborhood—Bed Stuy, Brooklyn. It’s an emotional journey with an ending I did not expect.

Coster’s protagonist, Penelope, is a talented, struggling artist looking for success and her place in the world. She finds herself working in a less desirable position as a substitute teacher to make ends meet. Like other aspects of her life, her temporary job is not what she envisioned for herself upon graduating college. Her relationships with both of her parents are strained, one living in Brooklyn, the other abroad. Perhaps it is the pain of her distanced relationship with her mother that I related to most.

Photo by Enzo Ticà on Unsplash

Penelope returns to Brooklyn to help her ill father. Upon her arrival, the neighborhood of her youth is almost unrecognizable due to gentrification. The setting serves as a metaphor for the belonging the native residents once had and now long for. Penelope rents a room in the attic of the Harper’s brownstone, a few blocks from her father. When she first moved into their house, she walked down a long hallway of closed doors, further suggesting the plight of those underprivileged. Even the tiny room she occupies also hints at the marginalization experienced by the area’s long-time residents.

The Brooklyn setting is almost a character itself with its beautiful culture, way of life, and values so deeply ingrained in its residents. As the neighborhood changes, the setting becomes such a crucial part of her story that it could not have the same depth without it. Coster has the ability to connect with audiences who have felt the impact of gentrification in Brooklyn or other large cities across the United States.

Penelope’s entire life seems to float in this constant state of loneliness and limbo, perhaps making this story so nuanced and relatable. As I continued to read, I felt sad throughout a good portion of the novel, but I also felt a range of other emotions. Her struggle to succeed in a world of inequality is unmistakable. She isn’t perfect, and neither is the world she lives in, but she’s a strong woman who doesn’t give up, managing to care for herself and others around her with dignity and respect.

Through the telling of a family saga, Halsey Street reveals an important theme of forgiveness. The past and present moments of Penelope’s relationships with her parents are woven, revealing their complexity, and depth. The act of forgiveness might be one of the most challenging things for us to understand and embrace. To have it is truly a gift. Through her difficult journey, I saw a realistic and honest depiction of life, and the pain that comes with family conflict.

Photo by Pedro Lastra on Unsplash

Another theme I found in Halsey Street is the human need to belong. You don’t have to be a Brooklyn-born resident to know what that feels like—it’s something that is part of all of us. Whether it is belonging to a small group of friends, a church, a team, or something bigger, the need to connect with others and feel important is a universal desire. For the native residents of Penelope’s neighborhood, gentrification not only took their homes and businesses but also their sense of pride and belonging. As a reader, I felt it too. Halsey Street sheds light on the importance of having people stay rooted in their communities and its bearing on Penelope, the people of Brooklyn, and her readers.

Hey there! Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this article, please let me know by sending a like or comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts! You can read future articles by subscribing to my blog here. Connect with me on Twitter: @jennwardwrites.

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A Closer Look at Joyce Carol Oates’ ‘Pumpkin Head’

Photo by Ivan Serediuk on Unsplash

By Jennifer Ward

A Woman Alone

When I first read Joyce Carol Oates’ short story “Pumpkin Head,” I was so frightened that I didn’t want to be in my apartment alone afterward. Her stories have scared me before, but this experience was quite unsettling. As with most horror stories, the shock wore off with time, yet her characters continued to haunt me long after meeting them on the page. Perhaps it was her female protagonist — Hadley — whom I identified with so much that I could not forget her vulnerability as a woman living alone. As I sit here in my candle-lit apartment listening to the roll of distant thunder, I remember Oates’ story a decade later as we approach Halloween — the season of pumpkins and stories that make our skin crawl.

Oates’ story opens with Hadley, a recently widowed woman who lives alone. She is startled in front of her house by “a tall male scarecrow figure with a misshapen Halloween pumpkin for a head.” Although the initial image of this man, Anton, is frightening, the story reveals much more. Hadley and Anton have many layers the reader can peel back as the tension mounts. The further I read, the more engrossed I became with both characters, each an outsider in their own way. Although Anton eventually becomes a threat to Hadley, this story is about how she deals with her new life alone and the ghost of grief.

The History of the Jack-O-Lantern

Looking at Oates’ character Anton and the image of the pumpkin head made me think of the jack-o-lantern and its origin. According to history.com, the face of the jack-o-lantern derives from an Irish myth about a man named “Stingy Jack.” As the legend is told, Jack played a trick on the devil by inviting him to have a drink, then turned him into a coin to avoid paying. Aptly nicknamed “stingy,” Jack decided to keep the coin beside a silver cross so the devil couldn’t return. Later, he tricked the devil again into climbing up a tree and held him captive by carving the sign of the cross. His behavior upset the devil and God; therefore, he was never welcomed into heaven or hell. As a result, he roamed the earth with only a turnip to light his path. People began placing jack-o-lanterns in front of their homes to keep Stingy Jack and other evil spirits away.

There are some striking similarities between the Irish myth and the role reversal in Oates’ story that develops. In “Pumpkin Head,” Anton gives a jack-o-lantern to Hadley, later joining her for a drink. Like the devil, Hadley is deceived and finds herself in a situation that is not only hard to walk away from but quite dangerous. It is, of course, ironic that — a jack-o-lantern — believed to ward off evil is given to her by someone who represents it himself. In the midst of all of this, I also thought of Hadley as a native-born resident. As an American woman, her character may hold some power and advantages in society that Anton, a European immigrant, desires. Looking back at the origins of the jack-o-lantern story, Jack seemed to be seeking some power which can be seen in Anton’s behavior too.

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Final Thoughts

“Pumpkin Head” appeared in The New Yorker in 2009 and is also included in Oates’ book Sourland. If you’ve read her stories, you know they are quite dark and often violent. Take a look at “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” and you might see some similarities here — one being a female protagonist isolated and victimized in her own home. They are two very different stories but do share some likenesses. Nevertheless, we read her work in anticipation that something very unpleasant and twisted will happen. This story delivers, and although it did leave me feeling quite uneasy, I would read it again. I have heard people say they didn’t like this story, particularly for its violence and the message they thought it communicated. It depends on how you read it, I suppose. But any piece of literature that elicits that much emotion — whether good or bad — is a powerful story.

In her story, Oates communicates universal themes of loss, death, and vulnerability, which may be more frightening than some of the images we associate with Halloween. Hadley could be any woman struggling to accept the death of her husband and the strange, new life she has found herself in. Oates’ story is incredibly haunting, weaving traditions of folklore and terror with an ending that cannot be forgotten.

Hey there! Thanks for reading! The original article was publish in Vocal Media. If you enjoyed this blog post, please let me know by sending a like or comment. You can also subscribe to read future blog posts here on the upper right side of this page. Connect with me on Twitter: @jennwardwrites. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

References

https://www.history.com/news/history-of-the-jack-o-lantern-irish-origins

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/01/12/pumpkin-head

Author Interview

Photo by Etienne Girardet on Unsplash

By Jennifer Ward

Recently, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by author and fellow MFA graduate student Faith Harris at Southern New Hampshire University. Read on to learn more about recent projects I’ve worked on, and what inspired me to write contemporary fiction.

FH: Let’s talk about process. Starting with, where do you write? How do you find the time?   

JW: I have a habit of bringing my laptop everywhere with me just in case I have some free time. I’ve written in hotel rooms, on subways, and during breaks at work (before I became a teacher). These days, I mostly write at my desk by the window in my NYC apartment. Lately, much of my time is devoted to my teaching job and graduate school. I try to get a lot of writing done during the summer, other school vacations, and the weekends.

FH: What made you want to start writing?   

JW: I’ve been writing in some form since I was very young. I kept a diary since the age of six, and when I was in the fourth grade, I wrote a small collection of one-page stories about summer vacations my family and I went on. Writing has always been enjoyable and therapeutic for me. I wrote a bit in college and afterward, here and there. I’ve had different careers in healthcare and education, but writing has never left my life.

FH: What is your chosen genre and what led you to write in this genre?  

JW: I write contemporary fiction. The thing that draws me to this genre is how relatable the characters and scenarios can be.  I think fiction can help us make sense of the world around us, and I try to do that with my stories. I once heard someone refer to contemporary fiction as “a slice of life,” and it really is.

FH: Can you please give us a brief overview of the project you are currently working on, if any?  

JW: Currently, I’m working on a few things. I recently wrote a short story about two sisters who are reunited by their father’s death. There is a lot of conflict and tension between them since he didn’t make his last wishes known. Many of my stories deal with family relationships. I also wrote a nonfiction story for Chicken Soup for the Soul I’m going to submit for publication. My story is about my experience teaching in a densely populated school in Brooklyn during the pandemic, watching my students and colleagues get sick, and eventually getting sick myself. It sounds sad, but it’s uplifting and all about thinking positively. Finally, I’ve written some character sketches and scenes for my debut novel, which is still very much a work in progress.

FH: What advice would you give a young aspiring writer?  

JW: I’m still in the process of building my own career as an author, but to a young writer, I would say go where you are valued and appreciated. Try to let go of any doubt or negativity others might project onto you. If writing is your dream, go for it.

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