A WRITER'S WIT |
My Book World

I’m not sure why I was drawn to this book, except that the chords it struck by way of a recent New Yorker article (August 3, 2015, “I Can’t Go On!” by Joan Acocella) told me I must read it. I began studying piano when I was ten, and then at age thirteen I set about the study of classical organ, which continued throughout my successful completion of a bachelor’s degree in music. I’d suffered certain moments of stage fright not only while playing organ (I, like the author, gave up the instrument) but also when I taught Advanced Placement English classes (Pre-AP to be exact) each weekday for ten years, always wondering if I would say something wrong, or worse, something stupid. The most difficult situation for me was speaking before a group of adults, reading from my own writing! By sharing with us her life-long battle with stage fright, Solovitch has created a fine primer on how to approach the affliction that affects millions of people: musicians, actors, athletes, and others less public:
“A 2014 survey by the online research and consulting firm YouGov reported that 56 percent of Americans were ‘very’ or ‘a little’ afraid of public speaking. But it wasn’t their top-ranking fear; snakes and heights ranked higher. Among the British, YouGov found the same prevalence of public-speaking anxiety, but that figure exceeded a fear of heights and snakes” (177). Whoo!
“By 1987, a survey by the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians, which represents instru- mentalists in dozens of major orchestras, revealed that 27 percent of its members used beta-blockers. Of those, 70 percent got the drug from colleagues”(108).

Date of Original Post:
11/13/14 — Introduction to My Long-Playing Records
11/20/14 — "My Long-Playing Records" — The Story
11/27/14 — "A Certain Kind of Mischief"
12/04/14 — "Ghost Riders"
12/11/14 — "The Best Mud"
12/18/14 — "Handy to Some"
12/25/14 — "Blight"
01/01/15 — "A Gambler's Debt"
01/09/15 — "Tales of the Millerettes"
01/15/15 — "Men at Sea"
01/22/15 — "Basketball Is Not a Drug"
01/29/15 — "Engineer"
02/05/15 — "Snarked"
02/12/15 — "Killing Lorenzo"
02/19/15 — "The Age I Am Now"
02/26/15 — "Bathed in Pink"
Listen to My Long-Playing Records Podcasts:
03/12/15 — "A Certain Kind of Mischief"
03/26/15 — "The Best Mud"
04/02/15 — "Handy to Some"
04/09/15 — "Tales of the Millerettes"
04/16/15 — "Men at Sea"
04/23/15 — "My Long-Playing Records"
04/30/15 — "Basketball Is Not a Drug"
05/07/15 — "Snarked"
05/21/15 — "Killing Lorenzo"
05/28/15 — "Bathed in Pink"
Also available on iTunes. Watch for more podcasts!