RSS
Home
A Profile: Adolphus Ward
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Adolphus Ward
Oscar Wilde once said, “Experience is one thing you can’t get for nothing.” One would, therefore, hope the pain of life's experiences would result in a life worth celebrating...as is the case here.
Adolpus Ward’s childhood was saturated with sickness and pain. Despite the attention of numerous doctors, he was given little chance of survival. But, he did in fact survive and lived a full life. One good thing that obviously came from those near-death experiences is the realism that permeates Ward’s writing.
Through his freshman novel, Harvest the Dust, we are introduced to Ward’s picturesque writing style and a cadre of unforgettable characters. Expect more from Ward -- throughout the LA literary scene and here in this column.
I proudly introduce Adolphus Ward: a member of the Independent Writers of Southern California and a novelist of whose painful childhood experiences have scarred him with a gift of story telling.
Q: When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
A: Mother and I had taken a vacation together in 1978. We talked a lot about her early life and how and when she met dad. Mother died suddenly in 1979. I made a commitment to become a professional writer of fiction in 1980. I had already had some experience writing plays for the stage. I had been an actor in community theater since the early 1970s. My master degree in education, my professional work as a manager in Human Resource Development and other areas had given me the writing skills and discipline to become a professional writer.
Q: How did you land in Los Angeles?
A: I left a teaching position in the Theater Department of the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and moved to LA in 2001, with the expressed ambition to work in the film industry as a writer and actor. I remain committed to continuing my work as a writer of family fiction.
Q: How do you develop characters – as individuals or as part of the plot?
A: I start with well drawn individuals: I know when they were born, what they like and don't like, their sexuality, their relationships. I introduce conflict and let them work their way through it. Along the way other characters are born.
Q: What is your literary motivation?
A: I love to tell stories—both on stage an on paper.
Q: What is your favorite work of fiction by yourself, and why?
A: Harvest The Dust, since it is my first novel. I left my HR position September 1984 and moved to Arkansas to begin work on the book. I had a portable computer, big as a small suitcase then. So I was learning to use an electronic instrument while learning to write a novel of family fiction.
Q: What is your favorite work of fiction by someone else, and why?
A: Toni Morrison's "A Mercy”
Q: Are you currently working on a piece of fiction?
A: Yes, the autobiographical novel about my middle age leap to doing what I really want to do with my life. After being twice passed over for a crucial promotion I made the decision to leave a secure position and do what I wanted to do; become a professional writer and actor. I am doing both.
Q: Where can one of my readers find your work?
A: Harvest The Dust is a print-on-demand book; it most be ordered. Google me or visit www.adolphusward.com for details about the novel and me and www.adolphusward.info for details about the novel and my acting credits.
In May I will be back on stage at the Fountain Theater in Hollywood. The play is Athol Fugard's "Coming Home." I will be in the role of Oupa Jonkers.
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
.jpg)
Today marks the 50th anniversary of the death of probably one of the most influential authors of the 20th Century (and one of LA’s most notable …
.jpg)
Caveat: My job as the LA Literature Examiner is to write about literature about Los Angeles or written by an author from Los Angeles. I am taking a …
