Culture - Big Purple Marble

Elizabeth McCracken’s latest novel is right up your alley.nUnless you live in New England, you may not know about candlepin bowling. That’s part of why author Elizabeth McCracken wrote her recent book Bowlaway, about 100 years in a candlepin bowling alley in Massachusetts—to give readers a taste of New England.n“I was a candlepin bowler when I was in kid in Boston. I loved the bowling alley and hung out there a lot,” says McCracken. “I was in Texas and missing home. I wanted to write a really ‘New England’ book. I could think of nothing more ‘New England’ than candlepin bowling, which most people haven’t even heard of.”nnDeadwood AccuracynCandlepin bowling was invented in 1880 by Justin White in Worcester, Massachusetts. Quite different from ten-pin bowling, the pins are thin and shaped like cylinders, but they taper a bit at the top and bottom, which makes them look like candles—hence the name. The pins also have a slight taper in the middle.nIn candlepin, the balls are small—only about 4 1/2 inches in diameter and weighing less than three pounds. They don’t have finger holes, so players hold the ball in one hand and roll it down the lane. nPlayers also get three chances to knock pins over. And if they do so on the first or second try, they don’t clear the fallen pins, which are called “dead wood.” Pins were originally made of wood, but since the 1960s most have been made of plastic.nResearching for FictionnWhile McCracken researched candlepin bowling (including watching games on YouTube), she says she’s not obsessed with getting historical details absolutely perfect—which is why she writes about fictional places and characters. “I did atmospheric research for the book. I want the story to always feel accurate, but it doesn’t need to feel probable,” explains McCracken.nShe also includes the Great Boston Molasses Flood in her novel–a real event that occurred when a giant tank of molasses burst and knocked down buildings, flooded streets, and killed people who couldn’t escape the two million gallons that flowed up to 35 miles an hour. nThe Path to WritingnAlthough she was born in Boston, McCracken’s family moved shortly after to Portland, Oregon. When McCracken was seven-years-old, they returned to the suburbs of Boston. “I completely identify as a New Englander now,” says McCracken.nWhen she was 15, McCracken worked at a library shelving books. “My friends were all waiting tables, and I knew that I would be incredibly bad at that. I didn’t have the upper body strength to wait tables, but I could shelve one book at a time,” McCracken admits. “I worked every afternoon. I read at times that I should not have been reading, and I really read from one end of the section that I shelved to the other — A through SM.” nAs a kid, McCracken says that she was always writing something, but she didn’t realize back then that she could grow up and write books. That changed, and after graduating from Boston University, McCracken earned an MFA from the University of Iowa and an MLS from Drexel University. nWhile McCracken started many novels, the first one she finished, The Giant’s House, was the first published. Not surprisingly, the protagonist is a librarian. “Much of what I write ends up being part of a childhood obsession,” says McCracken.nAt Home in AustinnToday, McCracken lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, writer/illustrator Edward Carey, and their children, Gus and Matilda. She teaches graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Texas, where she holds the James Michener Chair of Fiction.nMcCracken’s books have earned many accolades. Thunderstruck and Other Stories won the 2015 Story Prize and was on the National Book Awards Longlist, The Giant’s House was a National Book Awards finalist, and Niagara Falls All Over Again won the L.L. Winship/PEN New England Award.n“I’m pretty self-indulgent as a writer, so I do write in order to please myself with a turn of a phrase,” says McCracken. “I like coming up with a sentence that perfectly describes something, whether it’s a physical object or just a way of thinking.”nnFor More Big Purple Marble articles:nThe Hidden Children: Author Jennifer RosnernSteven Weber: Piloting a Successful CareernUnbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’s Carol Kane