Becoming a writer was something of a family rite for Gregory Maguire (G '90), the author of numerous bestselling novels, including "Wicked" and "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister."
"I chose writing as a profession due to a lack of imagination, in a way," Maguire said. "My father was a writer and my mother was a writer - I couldn't actually think of anything else to do."
Fortunately, Maguire's early lack of imagination led to a career full of it. As an author of novels and children's books, he has turned classic tales and figures on their heads - from Snow White to Cinderella and, of course, the Wicked Witch of the West.
Though Maguire uses whimsical fairy tale plots, his books are weighted with issues of society and humanity. His novel "Mirror Mirror" connects the poison apple from Snow White to the infamous Borgia family's tendency to poison their enemies in Renaissance Italy.
"The theme of the book was: what are the costs of maturing?" Maguire said. "Maturing of society, the individual and the species."
The writing process for Maguire begins with the theme. "I usually need to know the theme of a book, that is, what I am trying to answer for myself," he said. "Once I have a theme, I ask, 'What setting or time frame would this theme offer the most variety of examples?'"
For the book "Mirror Mirror," the setting also provided added benefits. Maguire's tax accountant warned him that if he wanted to vacation at a villa in Tuscany, he'd better return to the states with a book about it. "It's fun to travel somewhere exotic," he said. "Not Duluth."
Travel is not the only luxury for Maguire. "Wicked," his first novel for adults, was recently developed into a Broadway musical. "I am a fan of musical theater, and like most kids of my generation, I had a dream in day school of being involved in the entertainment industry - being fiercely, notably talented," Maguire said. That dream, however, can be "a bit daunting."
"When a book gets bought to be developed into a movie or play, a writer finds that his or her extremely private funky daydreams are being exposed to audiences of hundreds of thousands," Maguire said.
Despite this initial fear, Maguire has found the experience to be very gratifying. Many fans of the novel find the protagonist, Elphaba, to be a role model. "To know that she is helping them become brave and helpful people - I don't know what else a writer wants in life other than to have their work help and influence people," Maguire said.
Though Maguire enjoys the perks, his connection to writing is much deeper than the tangible rewards. "There are a number of different reasons for writing," he said. "I didn't become a writer in order to get published; that was a happy byproduct."
"I became a writer in order to teach myself to think, because I'm not one of nature's swift individuals," Maguire added.
A former professor at Simmons College, Maguire has a strong appreciation for education. His decision to attend the Tufts Graduate School of Arts and Sciences was originally a professional one: Simmons required him to be engaged in attaining a doctorate in order to receive tenure.
"Shortly after [enrolling at Tufts], I actually left my teaching position and stayed with the
doctorate because I had become greatly impressed with the teaching in the English department," Maguire said. "Even though I had seven degrees already, my mind needed to explore another level of strictness; another level of stimulation and challenge."
Maguire found his time at Tufts to be incredibly beneficial. "Taking my doctorate at Tufts was one of the smartest things I ever did," he said. "It helped strengthen my ability to
inquire about things
intellectually."
"I deeply admire Tufts," Maguire said. "I don't necessarily deeply admire the other institutions I have degrees from, but I do deeply admire Tufts."
The time Maguire spent at Tufts directly affected his subsequent novels. After taking a course with Adjunct English Professor Jesper Rosenmeier, Maguire said he "felt for the first time that I really understood what it might feel to be born in a different time period." The course led Maguire to attempt a book set in 17th-century Holland: "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister."
Maguire's passion for literature extends beyond his own work. A co-founder of the educational charity Children's Literature New England, Maguire feels that the art of reading critically is being lost on today's youth.
"The survival of a humane and free society depends on citizens being able to read," he said. "I am concerned that the video mesmo-rama in which children are steeped increasingly is eroding their ability to read critically and make sound decisions about the meaning and significance of what they are reading."
To keep literature alive, Maguire suggests that aspiring authors keep a journal of their everyday lives: "Daily note-taking about common things - even how a lock works and what you have for breakfast when you are a sophomore in college," he said, will do the trick.
"Those are the things that you forget as time goes on," he said. "How your mind is moving forward, how your heart is working, how you are engaged with the world."
Though Maguire admits that you might not immediately find the thesis of the next great American novel, he said that "you ought to be able to find yourself in middle of your everyday life."
And that, he added, "is as good a place to start as anywhere else."
