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Who
is R.J. Hembree?
Nobody calls me R.J., but that’s how I like
to sign my work. My business
cards say R.J. too, and when people call me,
asking for R.J., I say, “who?” My
name is Bob. It’s such a common name that
I often wonder what my parents
were thinking when they gave it to me. Did
they want me to be ordinary, blend
into the scenery, fit snugly into the status
quo? Who knows? I’ll ask my mom
next time I call her.
My wife calls me Bob too, although my 7-year-old
son calls me Dad.
I’m working on my MFA in Creative Writing at
Old Dominion University. The
professors, call me Robert when they first
meet me ... I tell them to call me
Bob. When I was an undergraduate, majoring
in English and Studio Arts, the
professors would call roll on the first day
of school, and they would call me
Robert too. I had to explain to the whole
class that I was really Bob. “But your
paperwork clearly says "Robert Hembree"...
see?” said one professor. I tell him there must be something wrong with
their computer and offer to look at it
for them. I like to tinker.
I’ve never had any training in computers, or
designing web pages; it’s a hobby.
Photography is another of my hobbies. I shoot
professional boxers mostly,
because they make some great faces when they
fight. Boxers are interesting
people too; they don’t mind too much when
others hit them. I think it’s a crazy
sport, but they love it, and it makes them
feel good about themselves, so who
am I to judge. I prefer the academic arena.
I want to teach Creative Writing and Modern
Literature at a university when I
finish school. My students will probably call
me Professor Hembree. I’ll tell
them to call me Bob. Now you can see why I
teach Fiction 401. It gives me a
chance to try ideas and fine tune them. Most
of all, I like fiction writers. I like
the way they think and see the world around
them. We are a different kind of
people ... not ordinary. We don’t usually
blend into the scenery or fit snugly
into the status quo. We like to stretch the
boundaries of human understanding
in an entertaining way. We like to share our
discoveries of life, giving readers a
glimpse of our innermost humanity so they
can compare and learn about
themselves. As Virginia Wolfe said, “Fiction
is likely to contain more truth
than fact.”
So, in fact, I am Robert James Hembree. In
reality, I am Bob. In truth, I am
R.J. Hembree. |
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Photography
I like artistic black and white photography
the best. I also shoot all the professional
boxing events in the area. Soon, I'll put
a
few of my images up for you to see.
Music
I mostly listen to music now, but I spent
a
good part of my my life singing in Rock n'
Roll bands. I even played a little guitar
and wrote songs for a couple acts.
Writing
Writing fiction (and teaching fiction writing)
is how I spend most of my time now. I'm currently
working on novel about ... well, I can't tell
you
yet, because it will put a curse on me, and
I'll
never finish it. I've written a lot of short
stories,
and have had few things published ... mostly
in
publications associated with colleges or universities.
My dream is for the New Yorker and Atlantic
Monthly to
feature my stories on the same month. |