To hear Sheldon Oberman tell it, his storytelling skills all began
over fries and gravy. "We would hang out at the north-end Sal's. Adolescence
- a lot of it was nonsense and total lies, but there was a great skill
in telling a good story," he says.
As Oberman got older - he's now 44 - he progressed from telling stories to writing them down. The result is This Business Wîth Elijah, a collection of short stories that is to be released next month by Turnstone Press.
Oberman is best known as a Jack-of-all-trades on the local arts scene. In addition to writing children's books, he has written several songs for kids' entertainer Fred Penner. He has directed three short films and published poetry journalism!ism and drama. Elijah is his first foray into adult fiction.
"I had the street and these windows looking down on the street. You didn't need TV. That street was a bustling neighborhood, and I got to see a lot about life."
For Obie, as he is affectionately known, childhood was a colorful time, to say the least.
"We lived over my family's clothing store, Dobie's Style Shop. Bert's Corned Beef House was a motorcycle hangout that my dad ran. I'd try not to get beat up on my way home from the restaurant to do chores at my mom's shop.
"We still barely managed to get by - these were not successful businesses, so all we had was pinball to keep us going."
In addition, an uncle ran a pool hall and his grandfather ran a steam bath.
"Three of my uncles were weight lifting champs. Even my grandmother used to lift weights. I couldn't use aIl of my relatives in the book. It's too strange for fiction."
One week from today, Oberman kicks off the 100 Minutes With An Author series. The series runs Tuesday evenings at 7 p.m. throughout October. It is held at Centennial Library and is presented by the Canadian Authors Association and the Winnipeg Public Library.
Oberman will talk on how to use your childhood as fodder for fiction. "I find that perceptions I had as a kid were the most intense and the most observant. I'm going to suggest ways people can go back and recollect their childhood experiences and use these experiences to find their stories. Whether it's for children's stories or adult stories, it doesn't matter."
Oberman's parents - his mom is now a practicing psychic - still live in the north end. A father of three, Oberman lives in Fort Rouge.
It is important, he says, for the north end to be present in literature
"Nobody was writing about the north end. If they did, they were shtick, they were stereotypes.
"If we're not recognizing where we live, and we're just looking at these other exotic settings, we are out of balance... Artists have to bring these worlds alive for the people who live there."
Oberman began writing seriously about 16 years ago. He has published two books for young children. A third, TV Sal and the Game Show from Outer Space, is about to be released.
A fourth, The AIways Prayer Shawl, is to be re!eased early next year. A fifth comes out next fail.
"When I had kids, I started writing children's books and children's songs. You've got an audience at home."
Oberman is also turning Prayer Shawl into a play for Winnipeg Jewish Theatre. In addition, he created the questions for the children's version of the board game Scruples - Oberman was the neighbor of the creator of Scruples.
A one-time freelance journalist, Oberman has also dabbled in directing short films. "Directing is transforming. people transform right in front of you and that's exciting ... but it was too much, it fragmented my life too much.'
Oberman teaches journalism and English mornings at Joseph Wolinsky Collegiate. He spends afternoons writing in a studio in Artspace.
"I wouldn't want to teach full-time, and I wouldn't want to write full-time. I like the balance to both. I get on my nerves if I write much."