Talking to two writers

I've had the privilege in the past three days to talk extensively with two of the best, working American writers: Kurt Eichenwald and Edward Hirsch. Hirsch is one of the most famous American poets living today, has written six books of poetry, and is currently the president of the Guggenheim foundation. Eichenwald has been an investigative reporter at the NYTimes for over 15 years, and is one of the leading business reporters in the nation. He regularly covers topics outside of business, and has written several books about journalism and business.

Eichenwald visited campus to accept a Payne award for his ethical decision making during the reporting of a story about the increase in teenage porn entrepreneurs. He also visited the news room and hung around, graciously sharing two hours of his time with us joker student journalists at the ODE. At one point, I was sitting in a room with just Eichenwald and one other staff member and Eichenwald recounted many war stories of over two decades in journalism. At one pause in the conversation, I mentioned how it's always helpful to listen to seasoned journalists relate their stories because journalism is all about experential learning. Eichenwald disagreed.

"If you notice, I've told you several stories from when I was in college," Eichenwald said.

Having more experience doesn't necessarily confer talent or ability, it just means you've been around longer, he said. It's about how you use your experience and what you learn from it. One of his main lessons he's learned over the years is to never stop asking, "how can I see this differently? what are the different angles?" In effect, he never stops asking questions. And he never stops looking for answers to those questions. Eichenwald said he follows his gut instinct and judgment, which in effect is what it means to be a journalist in society. Our job is to use our judgment to follow up on stories and pursue information with a dogged tenacity so that society will constantly be better-informed. It was inspiring how much Eichenwald actually believed in the importance of journalism in a time when so many people rag on the institution.

Of particular inspiration was his answer to my co-worker's question about how to infilitrate the giant fortress known as the UO administration: you're not thinking hard enough. There are people who have those answers, they just don't know it. It's your job to find them. You don't have to call the press secretary to talk to them. Find their office and go chat with them.

"Recognize people's humanity and treat them as such. They are not tools for you to use. Too many journalists view sources as a means. They will never get the story," he said.

Hirsch visited campus the same week to judge the undergraduate creative writing contest. I was selected as one of ten finalists for the poetry competition, but didn't win. All of the creative writing tutorial participants had the opportunity to meet with Hirsch and ask him questions about writing, the future of creative writing given the anti-intellectual culture rampent in the States, and what it means to be a creative writer. He was one of the most engaging, accessible visiting poets I've met this year, and he had a similar take on his vocation to Eichenwald: commit to your passion and never stop following up on the leads, talents and projects you begin. Years of experience will serve as a gardner, pruning away the branches that aren't as strong, and in doing so, will strengthen your abilities.

What I particularly liked about Hirsch's talk was his advice to dedicate time every day to writing, it's about making a commitment, a habit of writing every day. While I haven't been able to make that commitment, I've definitely been writing more than my entire life and actually like some of what's coming out.

Talking to these two men who've dedicated their lives to writing, albeit two different types, inspired me to keep with it. I think writing found me, but now I need to keep writing alive and healthy in my life. When I think of my future, writing, in some form, is always there. It was inspiring and refreshing to meet two people who have made the same choice and to see how that choice is playing out in their lives.