Welcome to Author Steven Parlato
Steven Parlato, author of The Namesake, is a writer, illustrator, and an English professor. His poetry has been featured in Borderlands, Freshwater, Co
What is one book everyone should read?
I can’t say enough about Markus Zusak’s novel, The Book Thief. With its wonderful characters, brilliant storytelling and poetic language, it’s a transformative read. Oh, and anything by a Merit Press author, obviously.
Definitely NOT early bird. I wrote much of The Namesake via all-night writing sessions.
As a kid, I actually really loved George Orwell’s Animal Farm. The political allegory was probably over my head, but I was enthralled with the story and characters; oh, Boxer the horse! As a teen, I was very into Stephen King — still am, actually.
Great question! “100 Years,” by Five for Fighting is clearly Evan’s theme song. He’s fifteen, and the sense of that age as “caught in between” is perfect. I envision it playing during the opening credits of the film (am I being presumptuous?), and when Lex mentions a band called Penalty Box, it’s actually a nod to Five for Fighting.
Persist. You’re guaranteed false starts, near misses, major disappointments, and times of crushing doubt. KEEP WRITING!
I wanted to be on the Carol Burnett Show, still do in fact.
Well, it is a pretty audacious aspiration. I always wanted to write, but never would have pursued it if not for the encouragement of an incredibly supportive wife, friends and amazing teachers.
Yep. I think Evan gets his artistic ability from me; I have an art degree. Friends who’ve read The Namesake say Evan sounds sort of like me.
I’d like to say I’ll just laugh it off, but I’ll likely go through an Elizabeth-Kubler-Rossian, five step grieving process.
Well, I don’t think we officially have yet. My wife bought a gift certificate to the restaurant that inspired Albertis, the one in my novel, and we planned to eat there if the book ever sold. Sadly, by the time it did sell, the place had closed. We settled for champagne and delirious dancing around the kitchen.
One of my favorite places on earth is — don’t laugh — New Jersey, Cape May to be exact. We honeymooned there, and have visited several times. I’m currently working on a ghost story set in a Cape May-inspired seaside town — ah, the research possibilities!
I have a very poor sense of smell, actually, but I do love lilacs.
Domenic’s Pizza of Waterbury; I grew up on it. Nothing like it!
Well, the sestina is my preferred poetic form, but here goes:
Fatherless, Evan sifts years
To find where truth lies
The Namesake
Gifted artist? Standout student? All his teachers are sure certain that Evan Galloway can be the graduate who brings glory to small, ordinary St. Sebastian’s School. As for Evan, however, he can’t be bothered anymore. Since the shock of his young father’s suicide last spring, Evan no longer cares about the future. In fact, he believes that he spent the first fifteen years of his life living a lie. Despite his mother’s encouragement and the steadfast companionship of his best friend, Alexis, Evan is mired in rage and bitterness. Good memories seem ludicrous when the present holds no hope. Then Evan’s grandmother hands him the key–literally, a key–to a locked trunk that his father hid when he was the same age as Evan is now. Digging into the trunk and the small-town secrets it uncovers, Evan can begin to face who his father really was, and why even the love of his son could not save him.
In a voice that resonates with the authenticity of grief, Steven Parlato tells a different kind of coming-of-age story, about a boy thrust into adulthood too soon, through the corridor of shame, disbelief, and finally…compassion.
Giveaway Details
2 winners will each receive a copy of Namesake
Paperback to US or Canada, Ebook Internationally
Ends 1/25/13
