Author discusses his childhood

He said he was "a misplaced person" who had problems with spelling, grammar and relating to Shakespeare. But Gay Talese added yesterday that he overcame these "isolated adolescence" hurdles to become a bestselling author and reknowned journalist. Talese, whose speech launched this years PEN at Penn lecture series, discussed the trevails of growing up as an Italian Catholic in the mostly Protestant town of Ocean City, N.J. "I lived in my own troubled realm," Talese said. "I was the only Italian in my parochial school." Talese said he grew up in the U.S. while the country was in the heat of World War II. Mussolini was an enemy of the state and newly-immigrated Italian-Americans were isolated from both their homeland and adopted country, according to Talese. "I didn't like who I was as an adolescent because history gave us [Italians] a sense of isolation from the land of our birth," he said. This troubled sense of identity led Talese to write his latest book, Unto the Sons, he said. The non-fiction work discusses his family's immigration from Italy to America. After decades of "hiding" in non-personal topics, Talese said he was ready to confront the facts of his own life. "I no longer wanted to ask questions of others," he said to the audience of nearly 125. "I had a lifetime of dodging my past." Area resident Ida Petrill -- who is originally from Triest, Italy -- said she learned about herself from Unto the Sons and was eager to hear Talese speak. "I loved it," Petrill said. "It is so intertwined with history. When I read it, I remembered my school days and all the history I learned." When discussing the craft of writing, Talese stressed his insatiable curiosity as a tremendous asset. He said he gained this curiosity as a boy growing up in his parents' tailor shop. There he learned to listen to people's stories and hear of their small triumphs, sacrifices and disasters. He said he later turned his experience as a curious little boy into the philosophy behind his writing. "People can talk all day and I'll listen. I'm interested," he said. "I am trying to bring, in a sense, a presence of the dress shop I keep running into." Searching for similar "dress shop" stories has led Talese to look for tiny components of big organizations to tell an overall story. He said he used this technique in his book Honor Thy Father which depicted the daily life of a gangster as "an awful lot of waiting, watching TV and smoking." College sophomore Bradley Tusk lauded Talese's ability to bring life to the routine. "I read Unto the Sons and was impressed by his style and how he can make an average person's life the most interesting thing you've ever read," Tusk said. "It really helps me focus on my life and people I know." Romance Languages Associate Professor Victoria Kirkham also said she enjoyed about Talese's remarks. "He was wonderfully honest and forthcoming," Kirkham said. "He was sharing very personal feelings. He said a lot about himself . . . But it's ultimately everyone's experience." Talese said he did not want success to inflate his ego and belives that young writers who win awards begin to concentrate on honors instead of writing. "I just try to continue to do my best work," Talese said. "For young writers gaining recognition, success does them a disservice. They become a success at the expense of what made them successful." According to English professor David DeLaura, Talese was recruited by the Poets Essayists and Novelists organization based in New York City.

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