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Member Spotlights

Member Spotlight: Judy Kurtz Goldman

author Judy Goldman looking toward the right and an image of her book Child: A Memoir

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Spending years, alone at my desk, writing and revising a book, can be lonely. How pleasurable it then is to bring a book out into the world! We writers long to communicate; writing books is how we communicate. Maybe this is what the world needs — more honest and personal communication.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? I go to my bookshelf and pull out books by the writers I admire. I let them inspire me, remind me how to push the language, discover what my intentions are on the page, teach me how to lay bare what there is to lay bare. They never let me down!

What is your favorite time to write? I love writing right after I wake up, when I’m closest to my sub-conscious, closest to my dreams. But my ideal day is to have from morning to night to write. So, how to answer this question? Any time, day or night, is my favorite time to write!

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? Two words: Show up! Too many people want to have written, and not enough people are willing to actually do the work. Writing is not as hard as digging trenches or drilling concrete. But it can be challenging. It’s a war of attrition. Don’t attrish!

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? I’m 80 years old. I am stunned and thrilled to still be writing! My 7th book, Child: A Memoir, was just published, and I’m revising a new book that I’ve completed. I cannot express how grateful I am that I still get to do this thing that I love!

Judy Goldman’s Child: A Memoir is out May 24 with ‎ University of South Carolina Press.