Short Story Writer and Novelist Ann Beattie submitted 22 short stories in a row to The New Yorker before lucky number 23—“A Platonic Relationship”—was published in 1973.
“If nothing else, I was productive,” Beattie quipped.
But once that 23rd story was published, she was on a roll. Beattie has since had about 40 short stories published in The New Yorker, along with seven novels, eight collections of short stories, and several short stories published in books such as John Updike’s Best American Short Stories.
Beattie first came Charlottesville in 1975 to teach in the English Department at the University of Virginia.
“Choosing Charlottesville was coincidence,” she said, explaining that, at the time, she only had stories published in literary journals, writing was still a hobby, and there was not yet a Creative Writing Master of Fine Arts Program at the University.
“I wrote 76 letters that year,” Beattie said, emphasizing the word “wrote” and commenting on the fact that computers didn’t exist then. “And the one job I got was for one year at U.Va.”
Beattie said that she then came to Charlottesville with the understanding that she was offered the job for a year and felt no pressure to behave a certain way. “ It was like a holiday,” she said, adding, “…which is always an advantage. You really are yourself.”
She also said that she ended up meeting enough nice people, such as John Casey, in the English Department while on her holiday. “He not only liked me, but wanted me to come back to the community,” she said. And so they kept her on board for a second year.
After two years, Beattie left Charlottesville to go to Harvard for a year before becoming a freelance writer for the 20 years that followed.
But the U.Va. English Department’s Creative Writing Program managed to draw Beattie back to Charlottesville in 2001.
This time, she would become the Edgar Allan Poe Professor of English and Creative Writing at the University of Virginia. Beattie now teaches one semester a year, during which time she doesn’t do much writing.
“There was tons of time [to write] then, not so much now,” Beattie said of her days before joining the University community compared to now.
But she has enjoyed the creative writing scene in Charlottesville.
“It’s a good feeling to know there are others doing what you’re doing,”she said about writing, which she described as a rather lonely activity. “…But not necessarily get together and read, although some writers do.”
“When most writers get together, they talk about getting their taxes done,” Beattie said laughing. “It’s a sense of community rather than talking about new work.” “Charlottesville is a town that thinks highly of writers and has the good Southern manners to let them do their own thing,” she said. “There’s no pressure to march together as an army.”
While living in Charlottesville, Beattie has also enjoyed the arts that the area has to offer. “It’s wonderful that there is a music scene, art scene, etc.” she said. “Don’t have as much of that in Maine or Key West [where she resides during other parts of the year].”
And for all of these artists, especially aspiring writers, in Charlottesville, Beattie had one piece of advice: “You have to take yourself seriously,” she said, adding, “…and you don’t want to get caught up in asking too many people for too many responses too much of the time.”
1. Girlyman plays here at least once a year.
2. Sir Speedy, my favorite business in Charlottesville.
3. The Saturday Farmers’ Market.
4. The noble dogs waiting, patiently waiting, outside the downtown ACAC and outside Blue Light Grill.
5. The Virginia Film Festival.
6. The very cool stuff donated to the Salvation Army and on sale at consignment shops.
7. Used bookstores—esp. Daedalus and Heartwood.
8. Access to the rooftops of many buildings (some legally, some not).
9. Good radio reception for BBC news.
10. Ten (the restaurant).