Steve Lawrence has recently come out with his second collection of short stories called Damn Good Stories. On Sept. 4, the first Friday of the month, he will be at Riverow Bookstore, located on Front Street in Owego, N.Y., from 6 to 8 p.m. to do a reading and sign a few copies of his newest work.
Steve Lawrence is a two-time winner of the New York Press Association. Originally a social worker, he went into the field of journalism with a focus on sports articles and has been writing 25 years, with over 2,000 published articles. He has taken his love of writing great articles into a love of writing great stories. His first book was called Rescue Swine One One, written in 1999 and intended for adolescents. Damn Good Stories is intended for an older audience but has stories for people of all ages.
There are 32 stories spanning across 212 pages, these stories range through half a century and go all around the world. Steve Lawrence has been described as a Renaissance man but describes himself as someone with creative ADD. He wanted to create a collection that could have something for everyone and worked to collect a variety of stories – some humorous, dramatic, there are reprints and sports centered works; really, there is something for everyone.
As a reporter, the foundation of many of these stories started out as articles but as the stories grew he chose to allow them to become more than articles. Journalism helped him to lay the foundation of these pieces, but his history with social work helped him to really put meat on their bones.
These aren’t stories that merely cover one issue or theme; they span absolutely everything imaginable and were done that way on purpose. Lawrence wanted to create a work where anyone could pick it up and find something that they would like, something that would and could connect them to some larger picture.
Though these stories are about as broad in theme, location, issue, time, and meaning as could be, some of them do connect to one another and it would be a fun challenge to find all the connections they hold. Lawrence said that these stories would have an extra special meaning for those who live in Owego.
His mother, Connie Lawrence, was a beloved teacher in Owego for 24 years and he dedicates his love of the place and his desire to write to her. He says that anyone who has ever spent any time in Owego will find something compelling in these works.
As a writer he said that the most important thing to him is giving people a chance to connect to and enjoy his work. The best compliments he was ever given on articles are always the ones from people who say they weren’t necessarily interested in the topic but they found something to love when they began reading his works. His sports articles captured the imaginations of people because they looked at the human elements in sports. These stories will also try to look at the human elements in some very different situations.
The wonderful thing about being a writer is that people will not only listen to you, but listen to others through you, these stories are about so many different people and they are all a part of them. Lawrence is giving his audience a chance to hear stories and listen to voices that they probably would have never heard before. He is sharing with his readers something more than just any damn good story; he is sharing many damn good stories from many damn good people. If you get the chance, get his book, go to his reading and maybe learn a little bit more about all wonderful things a person can experience if they just listen.
