Michael Vines spent his career as a copywriter and creative director for several of New York’s most prominent ad agencies. After retiring, Vines, 75, who was born in St. Louis, became an author. He recently published his third novel, “Harry Gets Wise,” about Harry Becker, a Jewish shoe repairman in north St. Louis. The character was inspired by his grandfather, Harry Beckerman. Vines recently shared with the Jewish Light his thoughts about the writing process and memories of his childhood.
In the Becker household, it’s not uncommon to hear Yiddish words and phrases. Did you experience that when you were growing up in University City?
In fact, Yiddish was my first language. When I was an infant, my father died and my mother had to go work—this is part of the storyline in “Harry Gets Wise.” I was raised by grandparents Harry and Lena Beckerman, who spoke exclusively Yiddish to one another. I’m told I spoke English with a Yiddish accent until I was about five years old, a detail that shows up in “Treblinka, Mon Amour” (another Vines novel).
How big of a challenge was it writing fiction after your previous experience as an ad copywriter?
As far back as high school, I was writing things that I shared with my friends, then took creative writing courses in college. I was very interested in movies and wrote a number of screenplays before I turned to novels, which at least one of my professors said is more of a middle-aged pursuit.
Harry Becker achieved a reputation for being tough and able to take care of himself. He was also handy with a pool cue. Did your grandfather Harry Beckerman share any of those traits?
Tough is not a word I would use to describe Harry Beckerman. Sweet, kind, loving, devoted—all the terms that describe the quintessential grandfather. He was not a pool player, but there was a pool hall across the street from us, which to my knowledge he never set foot in.
When writing the book, did you draw from personal experiences, like pulling into the alley behind Pratzel’s in the U. City Loop for hot bagels?
Yes, one of my best friends in high school was Bob Pratzel and there were times at about 11 p.m. that he’d swing by there, knock on the back door and say, “Hey, Emmanuel, it’s me, Bobby. Open up.” Emmanuel was the baker, and the bagels were right out of the oven. You never ate a bagel till you had one of those. The novel is sprinkled with some actual personal experiences, which function as raw material that’s forged in my imagination.
Many St. Louisans had personal encounters with Stan Musial, as did Harry Becker and his business associate Carlo in the book. Was that based on an actual meeting between Harry Beckerman—or you—with Stan the Man?
I met Stan a couple of times growing up and it was always a thrill. He was such a kind and generous man. But Harry and Carlo’s encounter with him in the Cardinal clubhouse was invented. From what I knew about Stan, it seems like it could have happened just like that.
“Harry Gets Wise” is available at STL Stylehouse on 3159 Cherokee Street, and online here.
Harry Becker arrives as a Polish immigrant in America in 1919. His experiences in St. Louis, mostly in the 1950s as he pursues the American Dream, begin this family saga in Harry Gets Wise. His two grandsons, Martin and Joe, have stories of their own, both in New York City. Martin’s, in the 1970s, is told in Treblinka, Mon Amour. Joe’s, in the early 2000s, unfolds in A Reason To Believe. The stories are linked thematically as the different generations seek meaning in an America that sometimes makes it hard to find.
