The Icelandic Canadian - 01.06.1995, Side 26

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THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
SPRING/SUMMER 1995
Wylie: It continues to be a ‘live’ book.
Women stop me on the street and say,
“You’ve saved my life,” and I say, “you are a
widow.” Some of them have been a widow
rarely longer than three years but others
for only six weeks and are still bleeding
around the eyes. It continues to be a vital
book because of its accuracy. That’s be-
cause of my diary. I had such a close, accu-
rate record of my grief.
Comack: Which book do you think is
more important?
Wylie: I thought New Beginnings: Griev-
ing and Losses, a Creative Process. I’m very
proud of that book because I’m proud of
the writing in it and also because it covers
a broad range. I really like it. I’ve also writ-
ten a book of poetry based on my bereave-
ment, Something Might Happen.
Comack: As for your latest book, Read-
ing Between the Lines: The Diaries of Women,
I’ve kept nineteen years of diaries stashed
away in my bedroom box, so I felt person-
ally involved as I read about women who
had “codes” and “tore out pages.” How did
you access all these diaries?
Wylie: There are few that I haven’t
bought. 1 did go to the Schlesinger Library
in Radcliffe College. It is one of the best
women’s studies libraries in North
America. Some (diaries) are totally out of
print and unavailable that I could read
there. I buy them all because I mark them
up and have to own them. I search for dia-
ries everywhere I go.
Comack: How long have you been work-
ing on this book?
Wylie: It’s been five years, but during
that time I’ve been working on other books
as well: a couple of readers for Harper
Collins, a book of quotations for Key Por-
ter. I’ve written and produced four or five
plays as well as my first screenplay, which
was nominated for three Gemini awards
and won two of them.
Comack: You refer to diaries by a great
variety of women from different lifestyles
and different eras. The ones that amazed
ine most were those written by pioneer
women, with their lack of paper and
scratchy nibs and problems with frozen ink.
I wondered how they found time to write.
Which diaries affected you most?
Wylie: I’m very interested in western pio-
neers. I’d like to get a film produced about
western pioneer women. They had a totally
different trip than the men. They were on
the same wagon train but they had a totally
different experience. I think that’s fascinat-
ing.
Comack.: You have chosen wonderful
quotations for you book like the one by
Nellie McClung, “Women are intended for
two things: to bring children into the world
and make them comfortable, and then they
must keep quiet and if their hearts break
with grief, let them break quietly—and
that’s all.” Why do you think there are few,
if any, references in diaries to abuse?
Wylie: Women are ready to take the
blame for things, even in an abusive rela-
tionship. They think it’s their fault. Erika
Johns, the poet/writer, said, “You don’t
have to beat a woman if you can make her
feel guilty.” It’s a combination of misplaced
loyalty to the mate and presenting a united
front to the world and guilt.
Comack: Why do you think that is?
Wylie: I think women have been well-
trained over the years. I think it’s brain-
washing.
COMACK: There was a reference in your
book to the woman doctor in the sixties
who was “pinched in the ass” by a male
doctor and she “held her rage and smiled.”
Do you think things have changed?
Wylie: NO! I think it’s still pretty hard
to win an harassment suit. It’s just becom-
ing a little more public now. The men are
going to do it and the attitudes aren’t go-
ing to change because of that. They may
be a little more subtle but you still read of
it every day that there are women still be-
ing subjected to harassment.