A short play, a little research, and one name in a database led Lisa K. Winkler to a story she couldn’t let go. What began as a writing project about Anne Brown, the original Bess in Porgy and Bess, eventually became Gershwin’s Bess, a work of historical fiction exploring Brown’s ambition, courage, and pursuit of her dream. Winkler shares how her research, archival discoveries, and journey from journalist to novelist brought Anne’s story to life.
Continue reading for our interview with Lisa K. Winkler as she discusses the inspiration behind Gershwin’s Bess, her research into Anne Brown’s life, and what she hopes readers will discover through Brown’s remarkable story.
What inspired you to tell Anne Brown’s story in Gershwin’s Bess, and when did you know this was a book you wanted to write?
Gershwin’s Bess began life as a short play I wrote for 365 Women’s Play Writing. I had written two plays and was looking for inspiration for my next play. The site has a database of women who hadn’t yet been written about, and I started googling. The names were listed in alphabetical order by first name. Anne Wiggins Brown caught my attention. I immediately began to imagine this young woman and how she worked side by side with this internationally known composer, George Gershwin. After the play was written and received two workshop readings by professional actors, I remained interested in the story and decided to write it as historical fiction.
I immersed myself in reading the many biographies of George Gershwin. Each book included a chapter about the creation of Porgy and Bess. Gershwin personally selected each of the original cast members. I wanted to bring Anne Brown’s story to life. It resonated with me because it really is the tale of a young woman pursuing her dream in the face of many obstacles and challenges. She moved from her family home in Baltimore at age 16 to study voice at Juilliard. She defied the wishes of her father, who wanted her to pursue a more traditional career for women at the time, like teaching or nursing. She knew that even though she had the equivalent of a BA and a MA from one of the world’s most prestigious music conservatories, she’d still be denied performing on the traditional opera stages in the US due to her skin color.
As a journalist and author, how did your approach to researching and writing Gershwin’s Bess differ from your previous work?
I knew I had to learn a lot about opera, voice training, the rituals of rehearsal, auditioning, and performance. I interviewed many opera singers and others involved in the music world. I had access to Anne Brown’s archives at Juilliard, and I went to the archives housed at the Amistad Research Center at Tulane University in New Orleans to study her papers housed there. My previous work as a journalist and writer has always dealt with living people.
What was the most surprising or unexpected discovery you made while researching Anne Brown’s life?
While I read many books about George Gershwin that included mentions of Anne Brown, I found only short online references about her. I created the meetings and correspondence between them. I tried to show the human side of Gershwin that people might not know: his concern about Anne’s career, health, and safety; his humor and ability to laugh at himself and his own insecurities about being taken seriously by the music world. I admire Anne’s ability to speak freely to Gershwin about her opinions about the opera. I admire her courage to be able to pursue her passion by moving to another country to do so.
How do you approach bringing a historical figure to life for modern readers while staying grounded in the historical record?
I read about the time period in history and include as many details as I could such as foods, fashion, transportation, architecture, and social and political situations. I included conversations among the characters that show the human side of them. Family life – parents’ worries about their children; early romance, meeting new people— these aren’t too different between modern day and the 1920s and 1930s.
What have you learned about yourself as a writer through the process of researching and writing this book?
Writing a novel is very different from being a journalist. I learned to relax a bit about getting every date right and let the emotions of the characters drive the story. You can’t rush a story. You have to trust your characters to take you on the journey.
After spending so much time with Anne Brown’s story, what do you hope readers take away from Gershwin’s Bess?
Porgy and Bess is a quintessential American opera. It’s about a community, only a couple of generations removed from slavery, that experiences the entire human experience, from birth to death, love and loss. Gershwin wrote original spirituals to convey the culture of the Gullah people. The opera also includes jazz, blues, and classical orchestrations. The song “Summertime” is one of the most covered songs in the world. The music is magnificent; the story is compelling; and the characters are believable, leading to pathos and empathy.
One needn’t be an opera fan to enjoy reading Gershwin’s Bess. However, I’d love to think that readers may be inspired to learn more about George Gershwin, about Anne Brown and the other real characters in the book, and about the opera after reading my book.
You can reach Lisa K. Winkler through website: www.lisakwinkler.com