Dr Gary Batson FCLC '80: Playwright and Author of Debut Short Story Collection

Dr. Gary Batson, FCLC '80 earned his Bachelor of Arts from Fordham University, two Masters of Arts degrees from Teachers College of Columbia University in education and communications, and a Ph.D. in Education Administration from the University of Maryland. In the 1980s, Batson was a member of the Frank Silvera Writers Workshop and involved with the Negro Ensemble Company. His plays have been produced at a variety of theaters in New York City, Westchester County, and Rockland County; a few were directed by Arnold Beauchamp.

A collection of eight playscripts of his produced plays, written between 2004 and 2011, and associated materials are held at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, NYPL. Here, Dr Batson answers a few questions for Fordham English News regarding his recent publication Impasse, a collection of short stories.

Tell us a bit about your writing career since Fordham

I wrote for the Amsterdam news for a while after college, just as I had written for the Fordham newspaper as an undergraduate. I’ve interviewed  and written about notables Vernon Mason, William Kunstler; about physicians assisted suicide, and wrote some movie and theater reviews. I stumbled onto a theater in Manhattan on 55th street called Theater 4 and was a writer in residence since at the Negro Ensemble Company, a theater company where another Fordham alumnus ,Denzel Washington, attended.  My plays have since been in a handful of festivals including Samuel French and Strawberry one acts, the Actors Theater, the Negro Ensemble Company, Dramatic risk, La MaMa’s and Paul Robeson Theater.  

What was the publication process for your book like and do you have any advice for Fordham students and aspiring writers on how to get published?

 Regarding the publication process, it was grueling. You are anxious to get published on the one hand, but you also want to find a publisher/editor who understands you and what you’re trying to say. My work is largely romantic, but with an edge. And it is so very important to find a great editor. Joann was a godsend and I can’t say enough about proofreading your own work. Also, you don’t have to have the largest publishing company in the world, independent publishers are great too, and may be more sensitive to your work. There’s a great  book called Small Publishers and Independent Publishers by Marylee MacDonald that students may want to get their hands on.

What are some of the ideas you explore in this collection?

I explore the pain of infidelity, the awkwardness of being in love, and how far one may go to prove their love. i.e. Lester avenging Eleanor’s rape attempt in the story “An Imperfect Love“. Although love can be infinite, you can love more than one person.

You've worked in both fiction and drama now, could you say a bit about this experience and what about the different forms appeals to you?

I found this to be an interesting question that I never really thought about much, but now that I have the question proposed to me I find that fiction writing perhaps lends more freedom than playwrighting. You don’t have the limitations of the stage, and in fiction you can let your imagination go a little more. You have the time and space for description and imagery.

You can purchase Impasse here.