A Life Lived Backwards: One Man's Life
An audio series based on the new memoir entitled, "Larry Ruttman - A Life Lived Backwards: An Existential Triad of Friendship, Inquisitiveness and Maturation."
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INTIMATE CONVERSATIONS THE BOOK, PART 03
“I think “Intimate Conversations” works well in the way I wrote it in my own vernacular and style in plain words where you don’t have to go the dictionary to understand what I’m saying. Several people have said to me they feel like they’re looking over my shoulder as I talk to these musicians. I do not look at these as conversations as interviews. We are conversing. It is a give and take, but not in arcane musical terminology, but in everyday words as understood by regular non-musically trained folks like myself. Some novels not really about anything meaningful, sell 100,000 copies. Books on classical musical sell way less. Yet, this book is about something important to all of us. It is about life and music, and whether they are the same. Last night I reread parts of “Intimate Conversations” about why music is so important in our lives anytime, but especially in bad times like now. I wrote the book because I want to share my wonderment of music with others, and the thrill of entering their world. As I reread my own book, I was sort of amazed I did it. It was like reading a book written by someone else. I said to myself, “I said that!” But I did it. It really is for all of you out there. If I’ve come to know some things about music, musicians, and life itself you want to know, then reading this book, you’ll know!” I suppose I could have written this note telling you a little about the 21 world class musicians in the book, from Renee Fleming, John Harbison, Benjamin Zander, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Susan Graham, Ran Blake, and all those others. That would have been sort of boiler plate in light of what I chose to write above. As you listen to these podcasts you will hear a bit about each of them. If you read the book, you will learn lots more about each, what it is that makes each great, what lies deep in their psyches allowing them to create and play, and most of all why music is much more than about life, but is life itself! People, always people
INTIMATE CONVERSATIONS THE BOOK, PART 02
“I think “Intimate Conversations” works well in the way I wrote it in my own vernacular and style in plain words where you don’t have to go the dictionary to understand what I’m saying. Several people have said to me they feel like they’re looking over my shoulder as I talk to these musicians. I do not look at these as conversations as interviews. We are conversing. It is a give and take, but not in arcane musical terminology, but in everyday words as understood by regular non-musically trained folks like myself. Some novels not really about anything meaningful, sell 100,000 copies. Books on classical musical sell way less. Yet, this book is about something important to all of us. It is about life and music, and whether they are the same. Last night I reread parts of “Intimate Conversations” about why music is so important in our lives anytime, but especially in bad times like now. I wrote the book because I want to share my wonderment of music with others, and the thrill of entering their world. As I reread my own book, I was sort of amazed I did it. It was like reading a book written by someone else. I said to myself, “I said that!” But I did it. It really is for all of you out there. If I’ve come to know some things about music, musicians, and life itself you want to know, then reading this book, you’ll know!” I suppose I could have written this note telling you a little about the 21 world class musicians in the book, from Renee Fleming, John Harbison, Benjamin Zander, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Susan Graham, Ran Blake, and all those others. That would have been sort of boiler plate in light of what I chose to write above. As you listen to these podcasts you will hear a bit about each of them. If you read the book, you will learn lots more about each, what it is that makes each great, what lies deep in their psyches allowing them to create and play, and most of all why music is much more than about life, but is life itself! People, always people
INTIMATE CONVERSATIONS THE BOOK, PART 01
“I think “Intimate Conversations” works well in the way I wrote it in my own vernacular and style in plain words where you don’t have to go the dictionary to understand what I’m saying. Several people have said to me they feel like they’re looking over my shoulder as I talk to these musicians. I do not look at these as conversations as interviews. We are conversing. It is a give and take, but not in arcane musical terminology, but in everyday words as understood by regular non-musically trained folks like myself. Some novels not really about anything meaningful, sell 100,000 copies. Books on classical musical sell way less. Yet, this book is about something important to all of us. It is about life and music, and whether they are the same. Last night I reread parts of “Intimate Conversations” about why music is so important in our lives anytime, but especially in bad times like now. I wrote the book because I want to share my wonderment of music with others, and the thrill of entering their world. As I reread my own book, I was sort of amazed I did it. It was like reading a book written by someone else. I said to myself, “I said that!” But I did it. It really is for all of you out there. If I’ve come to know some things about music, musicians, and life itself you want to know, then reading this book, you’ll know!” I suppose I could have written this note telling you a little about the 21 world class musicians in the book, from Renee Fleming, John Harbison, Benjamin Zander, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Susan Graham, Ran Blake, and all those others. That would have been sort of boiler plate in light of what I chose to write above. As you listen to these podcasts you will hear a bit about each of them. If you read the book, you will learn lots more about each, what it is that makes each great, what lies deep in their psyches allowing them to create and play, and most of all why music is much more than about life, but is life itself! People, always people
WHAT SENIORS SURRENDER
The incredible twenty-four-year pitching career of Roger Clemens in which he won 354 games, 163 of them after Red Sox GM Dan Duquette allowed him to depart Boston, intoning that Roger was “in the twilight” of his career, may seem an odd place to begin this note. Actually, it isn’t, because belief in one’s self at any age is the key to living long and accomplishing much. But it is also true that one cannot escape advancing years. At ninety-three I know both sides of that coin. I describe both in this podcast. It seemed I could do whatever I wanted until my late eighties, even managing to avoid getting trampled by the descending onrushing phalanx at Penn Station in NYC when my train was called. Now only four years later I wouldn’t chance that if someone gave me the long end at 100-1 that I wouldn’t get to the train on time. Why? Because the disease of peripheral neuropathy has slowed my step, made me a bit unbalanced and less strong, and affected the coordination between my brain and my feet. Although I can still walk unaided, two minor rear-enders persuaded me to yield to my wife’s demand some months ago that I give up the keys to my car. Lucky is the man who has a wife who says she will take you about, and keeps her word. So yes, that decision changes your life. But as Lois said, the next time could have been another’s life, or my own. There are compensations. As the months passed, I realized that I had never enjoyed my houses in Brookline and Wellfleet so much. Always good to go, I found it good to stay. My perceptions were sharpened. My attention to my surroundings in and out of those houses became more focused. I appreciated more sharply simple pleasures like quiet, sunlight and darkness, The Milky Way, clouds, wind, rain, fog, snow, trees, leaves rustling, birds, parks, flora and fauna, water vital for life in oceans, rivers, lakes, and canals. I now better understand how people with seemingly impossible limitations learned to enjoy life. I appreciated how lucky I am to have most of what I ever had. I learned that PT could aid the neuropathy. “Motion to motion,” as Jordan said. And that my ability to write was unaffected by age. A book contract just signed, another on the way. In short that I had lots on my plate to be thankful for. Sure, there were other problems of old age. An implant that failed, and the loss of two other teeth, some reflux and sleep problems, but so far nothing life-threatening, having beaten a melanoma to the punch! The highly respected gerontologist, Dr. Lew Lipsitz, recently advised me optimistically about my future with his no nonsense, non-boiler plate advice consonant with his view of my persona, based on this and our past meetings. “That’s life, “as Sinatra tells us. You can’t beat Mother Nature. Sooner or later, she claims you. Later if you put to use the resources, she gave you in the first place! People, always people
GETTING A BOOK PUBLISHED
Not an easy task, especially when it’s one about classical music. Even if it contains stories drawn from face-to-face meetings with over twenty world class musical figures. I had high hopes submitting the manuscript to several major publishers and agents. Some were very admiring, but none said yes. All said the economics were unfavorable. What to do? The title I had chosen for the book is “Intimate Conversations: Face to Face with Matchless Musicians.” Who ever heard of a person with no musical training writing a book about music? I did have a passion for music, classical especially, had attended hundreds of concerts, and read extensively about the lives of its artists here and departed. I never lost faith that the book had appeal, both academically and to the public at large. Having time on my hands, I decided to privately publish the book to friends, family, and those many folks, including its subjects, in an edition that would be produced at a level concordant with its text, to include many illustrations, a complete index, informative front matter, and front and back covers which would draw attention. Over many months and at considerable personal expense, this was done. If the reaction of those to whom I sent it is any indication of its ultimate reception, happy will I be! In short, the book is fait accompli. If any publisher accepted the book, it would be exactly the privately published edition, with only minor changes. Then I was introduced to the relatively new world of hybrid publishing. What is that? t sounds like something done at an arboretum. In the book world it means that the author and publisher combine to produce the book, each sharing in the expense, each sharing in decisions, the author mainly contributing his writing skills, the publisher sharing knowledge of production and marketing required to get the book out to the world. With no agent required, communication is direct, royalties far higher than in the trade publishing world. Sure, both are taking a chance, but each brings their passion for the book to bear. I went in the hybrid direction, thought I had the right one, but they soon proved they were more interested in a sure profit than taking a chance. Then serendipity came along when a major musician I had met along the way who had read and loved my book advocated on my behalf to a “family” oriented publisher, if you will, who loved it too! I was introduced to my “go to,” with whom I quickly formed a simpatico relationship on both a professional and personal level by a very long LD conversation, and a long e-mail exchange. Soon a contract was signed, now work has commenced, and publication is set for Spring, 2024. How refreshing to work with folks for whom money is only one consideration, not the ONLY consideration. Essentially my reason for writing books is to have them read now and, in the future, believing I have something t say. Let us not forget my friend Jordan Rich who has recently published his own memoir. He did it on the basis of Amazon’s books on demand plan. So as you listen you will hear about that popular approach. I will tell of my experiences starting with vanity publishing, publishing with a major academic publisher, the University of Nebraska Press, then to hybrid publishing. In fact, we range over many facets of publishing, starting with Jordan telling why it’s like bringing a child into the world, and the connections one makes with people who have read your book. I will tell you about how I became the hero of a young recently immigrated woman whom to this day I’ve never met, who found my book “American Jews and America’s Game” in the NYPL, and used it to learn English and about America. The most amazing part is how I came to know about it. For that you have to listen to this podcast, which I ended by calling myself a “podcastee,” a word apparently not known in the English language. People, always People.
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