Professor Doug Rice, winner of California State University ofSacramento’s 2003-2004 President’s Award for Researchand Creative Activity, calls himself a pirate. He gains recognitionrather than material wealth by purloining his inspiration, a bountyof words, into immortality on the page. Through language, Ricemakes past works his own, stirs up controversy and helps to expandthe minds of readers and CSUS students alike.

“His students love him,” said CSUS grad TerriKessler. Kessler is currently a professor at community college, andattests to the fact that most of Rice’s students enjoy hisclasses as well as liking him as a person.

Rice has been a member of the CSUS staff since 2000, and haswritten four books and has many other works published. Rice’swork ranges from non-fiction to experimental literature, showing atalent for many facets of the written word.

His stories come from many places, but Rice says his initialinspiration comes from the works of others, hence the piracy. Ricetakes ideas and makes them his own. He’s a master at the artof creating, using old standards and new writings to supplement hisfertile imagination. He says he enjoys the work of Faulkner, songsby Patti Smith and Bruce Springsteen, photography and philosophy,and somehow he manages to utilize them all.

“I got started by accident–an image from a song wouldexcite me…I’d think, other things could be done withthose characters, where else could the characters go?” hesaid.

“Skin Prayer: Fragments of Abject Memory,”Rice’s 2002 novel, was partly inspired by Patti Smith’ssong “Because the Night.” While writing “SkinPrayer,” Rice says he listened to Smith’s music just ashe’s currently listening to music by Springsteen in order towrite one of his latest works in progress.

“Memory’ was the foundation for the accidentaltransition into piracy and one of the many things that fascinatesRice. Rice explains that as a Catholic he had to memorizeeverything and things from memory began to leak into his work,”just fragments and phrases.” Theories on memory fromSt. Augustine also influenced Rice profoundly.

“Your body should experience “Memory,’ everyexperience, and every book should become a part of who youare,” Rice said. “Nothing more important than thelast.”

Sex is a crucial part of Rice’s work. He found it verydifficult to get to the language that he uses now, remembering thefirst time he used the word “cunt’ in one of hisnovels, “A Good Cuntboy Is Hard To Find.”

“A cold and rainy September night in Ohio, while I waswriting, I used the word cunt and then thought, a guy using cuntwould be in deep shit. So I called Kathy Acker, a woman I wasfortunate enough to be friends with later in her life and a popularnovelist,” Rice explained. “She advised me to use it.She said that I couldn’t do without it, philosophically andpoetically it had to be left in.”

Rice acknowledges that the word causes controversy, pointing outthat an editor once told him he could have more books printed ifonly he’d remove it. He refused. In the Spanish translationsof Rice’s work, cunt isn’t translated; theyhaven’t found its equivalent.

Controversy over Rice’s work has managed to find its wayonto the U.S. Senate floor when John Ashcroft and Senator JesseHelms used “Blood of Mugwump: A Tiresian Tale ofIncest” as an example of why the National Endowment for theArts should be abolished, attacking Rice in the process.

“Sex is a language of power; male critics usually focus onthe sex, while females write on power, gender and the courage totalk about it,” said Rice.

Rice gathers inspiration from his own experiences and those ofothers even when it comes to the sex.

“I’m not a virgin. Much like Madonna”I’m like a virgin’. I’ve had experiencesin life, sexually and philosophically.”

His books deal with themes of transgender and incest, as well asviolence and the supernatural. Rice doesn’t call his bookserotic. In fact he says that if you can read his work and get off,you should be put in a cage away from other humans. Philosophicalexcitement with his work is okay.

“My books should travel– I usually move them when I am ina bookstore to self-help or some other section. You can travel tomany places when you write, while staying rooted in home,”Rice said.

Rice uses writing as a way to seek out answers. “I justwrite, because I don’t know anything, a continual questioningwithout knowing, said Rice. “Once I know I’ll stopwriting…with fiction you can be more truthful, in memoirspeople lie more. My more profound truths are in thefiction.”

Rice’s novels may offer some insight into his truths whilefans await his memoirs.

Drop Quotes:

“I just write, because I don’t know anything, acontinual questioning without knowing. Once I know I’ll stopwriting.” –Doug Rice

“Your body should experience memory, every experience–every book should become a part of who you are. Nothing moreimportant than the last.” –Doug Rice

Sources:

www.csus.edu/indiv/r/riced/

Interview: Doug Rice, Keith Carmona

www.csus.edu/rsp/PresAwrd03-04.pfd