A Poet Becomes a Novelist Like That

It has become a cliche to regard a writer’s first novel as autobiographical. But in Lisa Glatt’s case, she readily concedes similarities between her own life and that of her heroine in ‘A Girl Becomes a Comma Like That’ (Simon & Schuster, 2004). ”Glatt will speak and sign copies of her book tonight, October 14, at 7:30 p.m. at Village Books, 1049 Swathmore. ”Rachel Spark, the narrator, is a free-spirited 30-year-old poet and college instructor who lives at home with her mother, a terminally ill cancer patient. Despite her fate, the mother maintains a cheerful and optimistic take on life, while Rachel is consumed by a frantic grief, played out as a string of doomed love affairs and one night stands. ”Glatt’s own mother died of breast cancer in 1998 and, like the mother in the novel, Glatt’s mom maintained a calm, upbeat attitude throughout it all. ‘I wanted to show how individual every response to illness is,’ explains Glatt, who lives in Long Beach and teaches writing at Cal State. ”Glatt describes Rachel’s grief as closer to a state of terror, one that separates her from people and makes it impossible to connect honestly with anyone. Rachel’s story, the main narrative, is cast in the context of the stories of two other women’Ella, Rachel’s star student, who is facing issues of marital infidelity and Georgia, a bright young girl whose reckless behavior leads to venereal disease. ‘These women all make huge horrible mistakes,’ says Glatt, continuing ‘but it’s the best they can do at the moment. It’s not always going to be like this’good things await them.’ ”Given the bleak circumstances of the plot line, Glatt’s novel is never morose, but focused on the living. It is both funny and cynical, sweet without being sentimental.” ”Yes, like Rachel, Glatt is a writer and teacher. But unlike Rachel, the author is happily married to David Hernandez, a poet and visual artist. ‘Fiction gives permission to lie,’ Glatt says with a laugh. ‘Rachel is a little wilder than I ever was.’ ”Glatt, the author of two collections of poetry, began the novel when her mother was still living. It first appeared as a short story, the provocative title referring to the narrator’s lifelong pattern of unfulfilling relationships: ‘A girl becomes a comma like that, with wrong boy after wrong boy; she becomes a pause, something quick before the real thing.’ ”The original story slowly evolved into a book, with other previously written stories woven into it. Glatt favored this ‘novel-in-stories’ form since it allowed her to ‘have a break or pause between the main narrative and other women who intersect her life.’ ”The author has a new collection of short stories entitled ‘The Apple’s Bruise’ coming out next spring. She’s working on a new book, and hopes to continue writing fiction, a genre where she can meld the story with her poetry. ‘I’ve always been interested in the story in a poem and the poetry in a story,’ she says. ”Glatt also teaches private writing workshops. For information, visit her Web site: www.lisaglatt.com.