Author’s Notebook | The Silk Factory by Michael Hickins

Hickins, Michael. The Silk Factory: Finding Threads of My Family’s True Holocaust Story. Amsterdam Publishers, 2023, 208 pp., $16.95 pb. Writing the Past (WTP): What inspired you to write this book? Michael Hickins (MH): One evening, working at my home office, a message from a person I didn’t know came into my work email with the subject line “Viviane Bronstein Castillo Hickins was my grandmother.” Which was strange, because Viviane Bronstein Castillo Hickins was my mother, and yet I didn’t know the sender. It turned out that this was the son of one of my brothers I had never met – so you can see already that this isn’t a very typical family. So this suddenly acquired nephew, by the name of Luis, said he didn’t even know what his father (my estranged brother) even looked like, and asked if I had a photo of him. As it happened, I had a stash of letters and old photos and various documents that were in a metal file box my mother had passed on to me when she died a year or so earlier, and that I had not had a chance to look into in any detail. So I went to the basement to look for a photo of the brother I had never met for the nephew I never knew existed. Several hours later, I came back upstairs with a photo of my brother Johnnie as a kid, shadow-boxing an imaginary villain, as well as a bunch of other photos that raised more questions than they answered: a photograph of a road marker announcing the entrance to Meillon (a small town in France), as well as a poem written by my father who never wrote poetry and only liked to read science books. I sat at my computer Googling to find out if I had any more surprise relatives, and discovered that the silk factory my great grandfather had founded in Ansbach, a small town in Bavaria, was still in operation. My family had been forced to give it up by the Nazis, and yet there was their website, with the tag line: family owned and operated for more than 135 years. Whose family are we talking about, I thought. That was the genesis of this book. I traveled across the Atlantic with my third wife and our infant son Max, named for his grandfather, and together with my older son who lives in France, we drove to Germany and met with the people who now run the factory, and later we drove to Meillon – that mysterious small town in the south of France — and I knew that what I was learning about the war, about atonement, about historical amnesia, about repressed anger – especially about repressed anger – was something I needed to write about. I also realized the importance of atonement and the role of acknowledgement in helping us heal from psychic pain. My experiences in Ansbach were so different from what I felt in Wiesbaden, both German cities where Jewish residents were deported and murdered in camps. My experiences were different because of how differently those places commemorated the Holocaust, and how differently the people behaved towards me and my family. It’s something I describe in some detail in the Silk Factory because it’s definitely something that inspired me to write this book. WTP: What were the challenges? Satisfactions? MH: There were several minor challenges – not being able to speak or read German chief among them, but also more significant challenges, such as the frustration of realizing that the answers to so many questions – such as ‘why didn’t anyone tell me about this?’ — are buried along with the people who might have answered them. It was also challenging to confront my own character flaws and limitations as a human being – things that make me a difficult partner and a less-than-ideal parent. And frankly, it was challenging to write honestly about myself and the people I love, knowing there would be bruised feelings and difficult conversations to follow. But it was also very satisfying to get answers to certain questions, and to find confirmation that there were truly admirable people who behaved heroically – almost to defy belief – without whom I most certainly would not be alive. And to have met their descendants and to have developed friendships with them that will last a lifetime. WTP: Please describe your writing process. MH: I have a day job, and always have, so I’ve had to be very disciplined about my writing. I write for an hour every morning, and I read in the evening. No exceptions, almost no days off. I don’t often write for long stretches, but I write every day, and as a result, it feels like I never walked away, so I never have that part where I’m searching for what to say or write. I just stay in the flow. I read a lot of non-fiction when I’m writing fiction because I don’t want my voice to change as I’m writing, but when I’m writing non-fiction (such as this memoir), I allow myself the pleasure of reading fiction. I also read a lot of journals – Eugene Delacroix’s journal is one I go back to, and also letters and journals by modernist writers like Henry James and DH Lawrence (whose fiction I abhor, but whose letters and notes on writing I find fascinating and insightful). I also read a lot of contemporary writers on writing – Laurie Stone is one, and Lincoln Michel is another. WTP: How did you decide what to keep in the manuscript and what to take out? MH: One of my mentors once said that you have to be willing to sacrifice your sideshow, and the reasoning there is that sometimes you can fall in love with a turn of phrase or a terrific anecdote that doesn’t serve your larger purpose. And then you have to weigh whether you’re just being self-indulgent versus serving the larger purpose, which is always your reader. I always ask myself whether I’m serving the reader by keeping something in that my gut tells me I may need to cut. WTP: Were there any surprises? MH: You mean, other than the surprises of learning that I had living relatives I never knew about (it turns out there was more than one)? Yes, I learned about other people who had been murdered in the camps that my father had never talked about, which can be ascribed to his not wanting to dredge up painful memories. But I also learned about some amazingly heroic people that I never knew about, and it was hard wrapping my head around why he never mentioned them either. It turned out that the explanation was hidden in the poem I found that he had written. And sometimes, as I’m working on things like this questionnaire or a presentation I’m giving to a local Reform synagogue, I suddenly start weeping out of nowhere. I’ve never cried over my own material this way before, so I guess that’s a surprise. WTP: Did you share the manuscript with family before submitting? MH: No, but I did share it before publication. I didn’t want close family to be surprised, and I wanted to give them an opportunity to clear something up or ask me to take something out if I had written something they just couldn’t stand seeing in print. WTP: One of the characteristics of the writing style, I find, is the tongue-in-cheek voice. Can you talk about that? MH: I think that’s just part of my natural style as a person – I like using tongue-in-cheek in conversation as well, because I think it gives your interlocutor room to interpret something on their own – like are you on the level or not. I do try to avoid using the tongue-in-cheek tone in a negative way – when it veers into sarcasm, I find that can be a passive-aggressive way of communicating, and I don’t like that. WTP: What do you think are the three most important factors when writing a memoir? MH: I don’t know that there are three. The single biggest factor is whether you think anyone needs to read it. Many years ago, I used to hear people saying they were writing just for themselves or just for the desk drawer, but that approach never described me or my process. I only write for an audience, and I always keep that imaginary reader in mind. So I would want that reader to have a valuable and unique experience and not just rehash something they have already heard. And I don’t think it’s worth sharing an experience just because I had it – no more than I think people should describe what they dreamed about last night – there’s nothing harder to listen to! Another factor is to make sure you’re not punching down – by which I mean, don’t retell anecdotes at the expense of people unless they’re more powerful than you. If you had a bad experience at a restaurant, there’s nothing that makes you seem pettier than ragging on the waiter. As a writer, you have power to tell things and to be heard, and it’s a power that relatively few people master. Don’t abuse that power by hitting out at someone who can’t hit back. Finally, when you’re writing any kind of nonfiction, even memoirs, it’s vitally important that you give anyone you mention a chance to review what you’ve said about them. There should be no surprises. You’re not giving anyone the ability to censor you, but you are giving them a heads up and/or a chance to clarify. As the one with the power in this situation, you owe it to people to let them know. WTP: How did you come to Amsterdam Publishers? MH: Yet another newly discovered relative, Peter Kupfer, was also working on a memoir about his family’s travails during the Holocaust, and when he posted to social media that he was getting published, I congratulated him and asked him who his publisher was and whether he minded if I contact them as well. He very graciously pointed me to Amsterdam Publishers. WTP: What’s next for you? MH: I’m doing a bit of speaking about this topic, because one of the most important things I’ve learned is that we all have to do a better job of acknowledging what happened, and also of acknowledging when we’ve done harm. One of the things I learned through my travels is that even when people have wronged you, even grievously, a heartfelt apology goes a long way towards helping you heal. There doesn’t necessarily have to be monetary reparations – atonement comes in many forms, some of them as simple as being willing to acknowledge a wrong, to share or commiserate with someone. It’s important for us as Jews to receive this, and as Jewish Americans, it’s important to commiserate with others and show empathy. And then it’s on to the next novel – set in 1980s Paris.

Mid-Week Field Notes–May 31, 2023

Field Notes

Some very quick things:

1. I haven’t had much to share recently. But this month, a new poem, “How Loud Bones Speak,” appeared in Poetica.
2. I’m still working on my full-length poetry collection and received two conflicting critiques. One came from the publisher of a well-known literary magazine who is familiar with my work. He gave individual poem feedback. The other, a poet who also writes about ancestry, suggested I reframe the manuscript around a single ancestor and only focus on her and her descendants. She also gave individual poem feedback. I am inclined to just take the suggestions on individual poems and leave the structure of the manuscript as is. Any thoughts on this?
3. I’m working on a book proposal to turn my dissertation into a book. It’s a most interesting process and now my proposal’s content has the flavor of the dissertation but has a new thesis and structure. I relied heavily on Scott Norton’s (formerly a director of editing at University of California Press) chapters in Revising Your Dissertation, edited by Beth Luey. I am currently generating my sample chapters.
4. A new issue of Writing the Past will be issued tomorrow. Not subscribed to this free newsletter yet? Sign up here.

Happy Writing!

Mid-Week Field Notes–April 25, 2023

Field Notes

Some very quick things:

1. Last week I attended the Texas Library Association conference in Austin. I served on a YA memoir and biography panel and discussed Ethel’s Song: Ethel Rosenberg’s Life in Poems (Calkins Creek, 2022). My publisher also hosted a book signing that included the ARC of Facing the Enemy: How a Nazi Youth Camp in America Tested a Friendship (Calkins Creek, 2023). It was great to connect with librarians and hear how much they enjoy poetry, novels in verse, and my historical novels in verse in particular.
2. Rejections keep pouring in from the few submissions I’ve made. Sigh.
3. I’ve made a list of all the writing projects I want to work on in May, June, July, and August. These range from book proposals to short stories to academic journal articles. It’s going to be busy but I hope it’s also going to be highly productive, although I will simultaneously be teaching four asynchronous classes, not including my own workshops.
4. If you’re looking for inexpensive writing opportunities, check out the schedule of Amherst Writers & Artists Write Around the World sessions in May. Each day one or more sessions invite writers to generate new writing using timed prompts via a $10, $15, or $20 donation to this nonprofit organization with social justice initiatives. I am leading workshops in Writing Family History and Food, Glorious Food.
5. A new issue of Writing the Past will be issued on May 1. Not subscribed to this free newsletter yet? Sign up here.

Happy Writing!

Mid-Week Field Notes–April12, 2023

Field Notes

Some very quick things:

1. At last week’s 34th Annual William Paterson University’s Authors Reception, I was unexpectedly asked to give a reading from Ethel’s Song: Ethel Rosenberg’s Life in Poems (Calkins Creek, 2022). I hope to attend the 35th annual event next year to read from Facing the Enemy: How a Nazi Youth Camp in America Tested a Friendship (Calkins Creek, 2023).
2. I delighted in using a method I read about in Marbles on the Floor: How to Assemble a Book of Poems. The essays suggested printing out the poems four to a page, cutting them up, and then playing around with them to find the right order. It was great fun, and I think I finally have a manuscript that might work, so much tighter than what I had in January.
3. I am using Alan Watt’s 90-Day Novel to explore and structure a memoir of my Junior Year Abroad as a Jew in Germany. Playing around with it last night with the beta test of Ignite Your Write.
4. Last chance to register! New webinar to commemorate Yom Hashoah, featuring Dr. Natalia Aleksiun

Have a good week!

Mid-Week Field Notes–March 29, 2023

Field Notes

Some very quick things:

1. Crafting Story from Your Family’s Past! Gather up those documents, letters, and photographs and reveal the stories that lay within. In this four-session course through JewishGen (Jewish genealogy), I’ll guide you through a series of timed prompts to bring your family’s history onto the page. Click here for more information: Tuition to JewishGen is $150. Starts April 16, 11 am Eastern – 1 pm Eastern via Zoom Ends: May 7.
2. Holocaust Writing: When I was a fiction fellow in Prague in 2011, our group visited sites of Jewish heritage, including the infamous ghetto/camp of Terezin, known in German as Theresienstadt. I found myself needing to express my feelings through writing. In fact, I wrote poetry and the resulting poems become some of my first to be published. I am not a descendant of Holocaust survivors, but I’m still enormously impacted by the destruction and that’s why I pursued a doctorate in it. My creative writing explores prewar discrimination and the aftermath of trauma and despair. Often in my workshops I have participants who are descendants of Holocaust survivors and survivors of other genocides and marginalizations. This workshop is for you. We will write to timed prompts in this 2.5 hour session on April 2 from 9:00 to 11:30 am ET and honor those who were forced to endure terrible things. Click here to learn more and to register.
3. Memoir or fiction? I’ve been writing about my junior year abroad as a Jew in West Germany as memoir. But I wonder whether I should fictionalize the narrative, particularly to fill in gaps since I have no journal or diary of the time I spent there, only photographs. Or maybe this becomes a future novel in verse? Interested in any thoughts–just comment below.
4. New webinar to commemorate Yom Hashoah, featuring Dr. Natalia Aleksiun

Have a good week!

Mid-Week Field Notes–March 22, 2023

Field Notes

Some very quick things:

1. Working on galley proofs of Facing the Enemy: How a Nazi Youth Camp Tested a Friendship (Calkins Creek, December 2023), waiting to hear from my agent about my new project’s proposal, working on a family history saga, a full-length poetry collection, and a memoir of sorts. Plus teaching six courses at four institutions and serving as editor-in-chief of a craft book. I’m in as many as eight or nine writing sessions each week, including the sessions I facilitate. Plus, there’s directing a Holocaust center. So, if you don’t see me often on social media, that’s why.
2. New webinar to commemorate Yom Hashoah, featuring Dr. Natalia Aleksiun

Have a good week!

Mid-Week Field Notes–March 15, 2023

Field Notes

Some very quick things:

• I received the Yizkor book I was waiting for and am grateful the section I needed appears in English in another part of the book. It’s not much to go on for a novel, so maybe there’s a picture book here.
• The Sepia Chronicles | Writing the Past, March/April edition, goes out today, featuring an interview with poet/historian Rachel Kaufman, a doctoral student at UCLA in Latin American and Jewish History.
• My editor and I were the after-show speakers at the March 11 performance of The Rosenberg/Strange Fruit Project, written and performed by John Jiler and clarinetist Lee Odom at the New Jersey Repertory Company in Long Branch, New Jersey. It’s a great venue and Jiler and Odom did an outstanding job. I was surprised so many people stayed for the after-show talk. My talk consisted of Q&A moderated by my editor and a reading from Ethel’s Song: Ethel Rosenberg’s Life in Poems (Calkins Creek, 2022).
• My new book is on Amazon! Facing the Enemy: How a Nazi Youth Camp in America Tested a Friendship, due out December 5.

Have a good week!

Mid-Week Field Notes–March 8, 2023

Field Notes

Some very quick things:

• I await the arrival of a Yizkor book (Holocaust memorial book) of a certain locality. In this volume is a survivor testimony that will form the basis of a new book. I’m not sure yet whether this will be a picture book or a novel. One thing I do know is that it won’t be long-form nofiction.
• Each week I struggle to send out new work into the world for possible publication. What makes this so hard to do? I’m eager to hear your thoughts.
• This week is the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) in Seattle, Washington. It’s a great conference, but to minimize costs, I only attend when it takes place on the East Coast.
• I have been re-inspired to continue to translate a book of poetry from the Yiddish. But I have a nasty habit of taking on too much, and so I fear this project will fall into that category.
• Last chance! The Mercer County Holocaust, Genocide & Human Rights Education Center hosts a new webinar on March 9, featuring Dr. Juergen Matthaeus of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum

Have a good week!

Mid-Week Field Notes–March 1, 2023

Field Notes

Some very quick things:

• The March issue of Writing the Past goes out today, featuring an interview with memoirist Lev Raphael. The Sepia Chronicles goes out on March 15 featuring an interview with historian-poet Rachel Kaufman. Interested in your free copy? Sign up here.
• The Mercer County Holocaust, Genocide & Human Rights Education Center hosts a new webinar on March 9, featuring Dr. Juergen Matthaeus of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum

Have a good week!

Mid-Week Field Notes–February 22, 2023

Field Notes

Some very quick things:

• Nearly two weeks ago I took a little class on using Instagram. Mostly I’ve been using it to find new photographs of my two granddaughters. But last night I found a message to me from Consequence Forum, a literary magazine publisher that published a short story of mine in 2021 that the editor was nominating it for a Pushcart Prize. I’m so glad I found that message! Now I have three fiction nominations and one poetry. Whoo-hoo!
• If anyone is interested in participating in a Holocaust writing group, where we write to timed prompts using the Amherst Writers & Artists method, please comment below or send an email to barbaradkrasner(at)gmail(dot)com.
• Found this review of Ethel’s Song from the Historical Novel Society.
• New writing workshops for March have been posted. They include Writing Family History, Writing the Past, Using Photographs to Craft Story, and Short Shrift: Writing the Short Story. In all I use the Amherst Writers & Artists method of writing to timed prompts.
• Last chance! The Mercer County Holocaust, Genocide & Human Rights Education Center hosts a new webinar on February 22, featuring Dr. Eliyana Adler of Penn State University.

Have a good week!