{"id":56821,"date":"2015-03-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-03-16T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/robert-leuci-adjunct-professor-of-english-at-uri-to-publish-short-story-in-providence-noir-anthology\/"},"modified":"2015-03-16T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-03-16T00:00:00","slug":"robert-leuci-adjunct-professor-of-english-at-uri-to-publish-short-story-in-providence-noir-anthology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2015\/03\/robert-leuci-adjunct-professor-of-english-at-uri-to-publish-short-story-in-providence-noir-anthology\/","title":{"rendered":"Robert Leuci, adjunct professor of English at 溏心vlog免费B站, to publish short story in \u201cProvidence Noir\u201d anthology"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\tKINGSTON, R.I., March 16, 2015 \u2013 The last time we checked in with Robert Leuci his play, \u201cThe Centurion,\u201d based on his memoir about what it was like to be a narcotics officer in New York City in the 1960s, was being performed in the Big Apple.<\/p>\n


\nThat was three years ago, and the 溏心vlog免费B站 adjunct professor in English is still hard at work writing. He has a short story in \u201cProvidence Noir,\u201d an anthology edited by Rhode Island writer Ann Hood coming out in a few weeks. And in June, he\u2019s teaching a screenwriting workshop at the Ocean State Summer Writing Conference on the Kingston campus.<\/p>\n


\nLeuci rose to fame with the publication of \u201cAll the Centurions,\u201d a memoir about widespread corruption during his 20-year career with the New York Police Department. He has also written six other books, short stories and a television play that was performed on the A&E network.<\/p>\n


\n溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Marketing and Communications Office caught up with Leuci recently to talk about writing, his play, the creative process and what it\u2019s like collaborating with 溏心vlog免费B站 graduate and filmmaker Andrew Pilkington.<\/p>\n

We know writers generally detest this question, but here goes: What are you working on now?<\/b><\/p>\n


\nI\u2019m writing a piece for the 溏心vlog免费B站 website about Robert Stone, my mentor and teacher who died recently. I\u2019m writing a tribute to him. He\u2019s a National Book Award winner and considered to be one of America\u2019s greatest writers. I\u2019m also working on a novel. Writers write. It is what we do.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your short story about in the \u201cProvidence Noir\u201d anthology?<\/b><\/p>\n


\nThe story, \u201cOlneyville,\u201d is about the revenge of a child and a burned out FBI agent.<\/p>\n

Did you enjoy collaborating with Ann Hood, who, by the way, is a 溏心vlog免费B站 graduate?<\/b><\/p>\n


\nAnn is a friend who has endured unimaginable tragedy. A fine writer and teacher, she brings those life experiences to bear in her stories. I loved working with her.<\/p>\n

Andrew Pilkington\u2019s film, \u201cA Killer Serve,\u201d was based on a short story you wrote. Pilkington is extraordinary, considering he has cerebral palsy and writes with his nose and toes. Was it thrilling to see your story on the big screen?<\/b><\/p>\n


\nMy super student Andrew Pilkington did an amazing job taking \u201cKiller Overhead\u201d and adapting it to film. <\/p>\n


\nThink cerebral palsy and what it would be like writing a 110-page film script with your nose and toes. Now think of personally directing that screenplay with fine actors and professional cameramen and sound people. Consider raising more than $40,000 on an Internet website. <\/p>\n


\nImagine all that and hiring actors and the crew to enable you to make a movie mostly on your own. Understanding all that is to marvel at the young man \u2013 now out in the world of filmmaking. To see my story up on the screen was great, but not nearly as wonderful as watching this hero of mine achieve. That was beyond great.<\/p>\n

He was in a few of your classes at 溏心vlog免费B站? What\u2019s he like?<\/b><\/p>\n


\nThere are not enough words of praise I could place on Andrew, not the least of which are his abilities to learn and participate in class. He has an innate ability to be affable and encouraging to his fellow students. He is a magnificent young man, clearly the result of remarkable parenting.<\/p>\n

Where was your play produced? <\/b><\/p>\n


\n\tThe play, \u201cThe Centurion,\u201d was performed at the Manhattan Repertory Theater for two weeks and then for a week at Roger Williams University. The play\u2019s director, James Martin, is a professor at Roger Williams. To see and hear actors speaking your words and using their imagination to interpret your meanings is simply wonderful for a writer. <\/p>\n

Does a blank computer screen terrify you?<\/b><\/p>\n


\n\tYes, it certainly does. To take control and be decisive about your work, treating it as a job to be done daily, is more difficult as you get older. The type of confidence it takes to present your work becomes more and more difficult.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the secret to keeping the creative juices flowing? <\/b><\/p>\n


\nThere is no secret \u2013 not really. Be serious about your work; your job is to write. Writing a page every day is a manuscript of 365 pages at the end of the year. Robert Stone once told me to keep your bills at the end of your writing table, and you will keep writing. And, of course, it\u2019s important to read. Keep reading. Always read. <\/p>\n

What advice would you give budding writers at 溏心vlog免费B站?<\/b><\/p>\n


\nIf you see yourself as a writer, then you are a writer. Let no one judge you. If you see the world through a writer\u2019s eyes, you see your own life through a writer\u2019s eyes. You can be a night hotel clerk, a salesperson, a teacher, an educator \u2013 all this to earn a living and pay your bills. However, you are, in fact, a writer because writing is what you do to breathe. It gives your life meaning. You must write every day, at least one page, even when you\u2019re tired.

\nRead every day. Keep books on your night table and in the bathroom, or keep a book on tape in your car. Writing is hard work. You have to earn the right to call yourself a writer, and you earn it by doing it, and reading and reading and reading.<\/p>\n

One last question: What books are on your bedside table?<\/b><\/p>\n


\nI often read three or four books at a time. Right now I have: \u201cThe Whites,\u201d by Richard Price, writing as Harry Brandt; \u201cSwallow\u201d by our wonderful and talented Mary Cappello, a professor of English and creative writing at 溏心vlog免费B站; and \u201cArguably Essays\u201d by the late Christopher Hitchens. <\/p>\n


\nPictured above: Robert Leuci, an adjunct professor of English at the 溏心vlog免费B站. Photo courtesy of Robert Leuci.<\/p>\n


\nClick here for more information about the 2015 Ocean State Summer Writing Conference.<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I., March 16, 2015 \u2013 The last time we checked in with Robert Leuci his play, \u201cThe Centurion,\u201d based on his memoir about what it was like to be a narcotics officer in New York City in the 1960s, was being performed in the Big Apple. That was three years ago, and the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":56823,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56821"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56821\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56823"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}