Kathleen Stone

Kathleen Stone knows something about female ambition. As a lawyer, she was a law clerk to a federal judge, a litigation partner in a law firm, and senior counsel at a financial institution. She also taught seminars on American law in six foreign countries, including as a Fulbright Senior Specialist. Kathleen’s work has been published in Ploughshares, Arts Fuse, Los Angeles Review of Books, Timberline Review, and The Writer’s Chronicle. She holds graduate degrees from Boston University School of Law and the Bennington Writing Seminars and lives in Boston.

Twitter: @KathleenCStone

Instagram: @KathleenCStone

Is there another profession you would like to try?

I'd say law, except I've already done that. For more than 30 years I practiced law, with a focus on commercial litigation. I had to learn my clients' businesses, and I tried cases in the  courtroom which made it a demanding career. I mean that in a good way. Eventually, though, I wanted to try something different and I turned to writing. That  might seem like a natural evolution, but legal writing is very different from what I do now.

If I were going to switch gears once more and try something entirely new, I would be an art curator in a museum. That's what I thought I would do when I was in college and majoring in art history. I abandoned that path in favor of law school, but I can fantasize about going back and choosing the road not taken.

Is there a work of art that you love. Why? Have you ever visited it in person?

There are so many works of art that I love I don't know where to begin! The thing that grabs me in a work of art is a feeling of communion with the artist. This is true whether we are talking about visual art, music or writing. The piece of art need not be autobiographical or a statement of personal belief. In fact, I usually prefer art not to be overtly autobiographical. But when I detect a personal vision in an artist 's depiction of  another person, object or situation, I am pulled in. I feel I know something of the person who created the piece.

I'll give you an example. I first visited Florence, Italy when I was in college, and I saw Paolo Uccello's "Battle of San Romano." It dates from the early 15th century, and he painted it not long after Florence won a decisive battle against Siena, a rival city-state. He shows the Florentine fighters as gloriously decorative, but they come off a bit flat. The horses, too. Uccello was grappling with the transition to linear perspective, a big innovation of the Renaissance, and he hadn't really mastered it. But I see what he's trying to accomplish, and I love the effort.

For similar reasons, art from the early 20th century is also intriguing. Artists, writers and musicians were trying out new forms of expression. Not all were successful, or at least not all are to my liking, but they were aiming for seismic shifts across the spectrum and that is exciting. The struggle is part of the artistic vision. 

If you could create a museum exhibition, what would be the theme?

I  would choose art that reveals a moment of transition, for the particular artist and for the era. I would look at the influences that were most relevant to the artist's work, and what his or her personal vision was. Probably I would feature work from the early 20th century. To go back to my answer to the last question, I would look for the struggle.

As I say this, I realize that's what I've tried to do in my book – look at the lives of 20th century women to discover what influenced their choices about work and see how they pursued their personal visions, struggle and all. 

Do you have another artistic outlet in addition to your writing? Do you sew? Paint? Draw? Knit? Dance?

I play piano, completely as an amateur. I took piano lessons when I was young, then stopped for a long time, but resumed some years ago. I learned classical piano first but now play jazz. I get a break when I sit down at the piano because I have to concentrate completely on music and ignore whatever is going on in my writing life. There are parallels between jazz and writing, even with the somewhat structured, nonfiction writing that I do. I have to rely on a combination of craft and inspiration, whether I'm producing words or notes.  

What’s the difference (at least for you!) between being a writer and an author? How do you shift gears between the two?

All authors are writers, but not all writers are authors. At least that's how I think of it. What I mean is that many people write, sometimes for purely private purposes, but authors are writers who want to be read and therefore go public with their work. Publishing is a very different game from writing. It can seem like an abrupt or even unwelcome transition from the solitary writing experience. For me, it helps to realize that there are people who are interested in what I have to say. Putting on the author hat is a way to connect with them. The readings, talks, podcasts, interviews, etc. that an author does are a lifeline to readers trying to sort through the big universe of things to read. It helps them find what really sparks their interest. I'm still new at this but it seems to me that the trick is for the author to engage in outreach activities that are aligned with the work and feel organic to the person, and not try to do everything. That will create a more real connection with readers.