Poets and Punks Blog: Charles R. Cross, Editor

 

The Pink Umbrellas book project started with this Facebook message in 2023.

The first draft was a jumble of great ideas and mixed metaphors. I was yet to discover Grammarly, because I thought using A.I. to copyedit was “cheating” (I was wrong). I hadn’t written anything important for more than a dozen years.

Charles R. Cross copyedited, cajoled, critiqued, and conjured a clearer literary voice from these rough drafts. It was a masterclass. He encouraged me to learn from my mistakes and do the editing work myself.

The plan was to have him proofread Pink Umbrellas in 2025. Sadly, Charles won’t be sending more tutorials like these, but the collection of short stories has progressed toward E-book publication on Kindle: April 1, 2025.

The following screenshots are from editorial comments Charles made on the first draft. The first chapter was copyedited twice between February and July (see comments).

Chapter One was originally about a series of ten Dizzy Gillespie Quintet (jazz) shows that I’d seen in Pioneer Square at The New Orleans Cafe. It wasn’t grungy, but I thought it important to show The Rocket’s diverse coverage of all music in the Pacific Northwest.

I covered jazz, R&B, funk, blues and alternative music for The Rocket and my cousin, Bob Barr’s magazine, City Heat. I thought it important to recognize the diverse music (often) represented by The Rocket, City Heat, The Stranger and The Weekly. I loved grunge but those primo assignments went to senior writers like Gillian G. Gaar. 

I danced at The Vogue, The Frontier Room, Astor Park, Neighbors, The Monastery, Timberline, Re-Bar, Celebrity, Larry's Greenfront, The Central, Off Ramp, The Croc — basically everywhere.

Charles agreed that The Rocket covered a ton of other music beyond grunge rock, but noted that the book was about the grunge scene and might be confusing for readers. 

He was right. 

I re-wrote Chapter One, and he edited it again.