Novem­ber is fic­tion month for Friends Jour­nal. This week I inter­viewed Beck Daniel Wren about his sto­ry “Star­lings.” It’s a great tale that real­ly chal­lenges read­er to pon­der what iden­ti­ties we allow oth­ers — and our­selves — to see. There’s a lot that is top­i­cal in the sto­ry­telling (immi­gra­tion, gov­ern­ment cor­rup­tion, scape­goat­ing, etc.) but it’s all in ser­vice to the sto­ry — a real tes­ta­ment to the writ­ing craft.

I asked Beck one of my go-to ques­tions for fic­tion and poet­ry: what makes a lit­er­ary work Quak­er? It’s often an unan­swer­able ques­tion. Yes, some sto­ries in our fic­tion issues take place in Quak­er meet­ing­hous­es and most of our authors are them­selves Friends (though that isn’t a require­ment). But it’d be ter­ri­bly reduc­tive to make those require­ments for publication. 

Beck cred­its his immer­sion in Quak­er faith with a refine­ment of writ­ing style, point­ing to metaphors of light that infuse “Star­lings” and oth­er works. But even more sur­pris­ing­ly, he says the process of our busi­ness meet­ings has allowed him to trust the read­er and not over explain metaphors. “I can open doors, I can ask ques­tions, and I don’t have to pro­vide all the answers.” I love it! It’s a great inter­view all around. You can watch the whole inter­view or read the show notes and tran­scripts over at the FJ website.