To the editors.
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Sharon Solwitz, in the 10 June issue of the Reader, wrote an interesting article, “The Gospel According to Gordon Lish.” Gospel is something that doesn’t change. Those of us who work with Gordon know that he is always changing, that he respects most what is unique and different. Sharon Solwitz refers to Lish as a guru, and mentions the “cultish” aspect of Lish followers. This might be true for those who look for gurus and like the idea of cults. I don’t know. I have never looked for a guru nor have I ever joined anything in my life. I do know that I have worked closely with Gordon for over two years. Lish’s most important quality is that he has the soul of a teacher, who loves to teach, and who believes teaching is the highest calling. Once long ago, I read that to teach means to “draw out.” Gordon has “drawn out” more writers than any editor in America. This giving and loving help to writers is part of his heritage that will last and stay forever. When he believes in a writer he is never critical or condemning. He is the gentlest friend and, on the page, with the words, the kindest editor. Unlike Sharon Solwitz, I never attended a Lish workshop with vague dreams of a contract with “Knopf.” I went for the hell of it, even resenting going, went because the first workshop was run by good friends. I went to his first Chicago workshop and I found an editor and a friend. Unlike Sharon Solwitz who only read her first sentence and part of a second sentence at this last workshop, in the first workshop I attended, Gordon had me read my entire story, which was five pages long. He let me read the story, a story of aging strippers in Cal City, because he felt it was honest.
Sharon Korshak
