deli or delicatessen - noun - a retail establishment that sells prepared foods, cured meats, fine cheeses, and specialty sandwiches. (Wikipedia)
accreting - adjective - growing slowly over time by accumulating layers. (English Language and Usage)
Two of my favorite scenes from classic cinema take place in actual New York City delis. The first is the opening sequence from Woody Allen's iconic, black-and-white comic elegy for a hapless theatrical agent, Broadway Danny Rose, and the second is from director Rob Reiner's homage to accreting love, When Harry Met Sally. The delicatessen featured in the former is the Carnegie, now defunct unfortunately. The deli in the latter is Katz's, fortunately still a NYC staple at 205 E. Houston Street on the Lower East Side. When I resided in Manhattan 45 years ago, I would trek to Carnegie at 854 7th Avenue between 54th and 55th for a sumptuous, four-inch-thick corned beef sandwich on rye that was way more affordable than the twenty-five dollar version I might have purchased today. Although the original restaurant is no longer, devotees of the Jewish deli can still order from the menu at its Madison Square Garden location or visit the website. But neither experience would be the same. There is nothing that compares to sitting in a slightly dodgy, dusty deli, chatting with a companion or negotiating fingerprint smears on a dirty window in order to appreciate the appearances of passersby on 7th Avenue.
For whatever reason (probably because the Carnegie used to be cheap), the aforementioned was a hangout for every starving artist looking to bite into half of a hefty sandwich at lunch and take the leftover half home for dinner. If I were still living in New York, I'd probably meet my fellow writer friend, who is hoping to snag an agent (aren't we all?), at Katz's. However, since moving to Los Angeles, I met her today at the equivalent of both the Carnegie and Katz's: the deli-restaurant Canter's, which opened in 1953 at 419 North Fairfax Avenue. Over the years, it has been a location for numerous films and TV series, especially as Television City is right down the street. The decor has not been altered much over the years, and neither has the vast selection of deli classics on the menu. Canter's also has a tempting bakery that specializes in Jewish treats, such as mouth-watering coconut macaroons. Again, it isn't inexpensive, but I did manage to get someone in the kitchen to make me a Jersey Sloppy Joe (not on the menu) for $25. I know. Yikes! But it came with a foil container so that I could tote the leftovers back to my apartment.
What mattered more to us writers was the conversation. The deli provided the right ambience for us to share our experiences as also-rans–always the bridesmaids, never brides–when it came to finding just the right people to promote our literary talents. My friend, who just finished a manuscript for a children's picture book, has just started to query agents. I, the author of a memoir and psychological drama, have been querying literary agents for six years. I've probably contacted about five hundred by now. Unsuccessfully. The only tidbit of trivia that keeps me on my toes trying is that Ray Bradbury, whose Fahrenheit 451 is still taught in high school English classes, was rejected over eight hundred times before his work was accepted for publication.
Will I hang in there for as long as he did? Probably not. I could publish tomorrow on Kindle for nothing and start making seventy percent of $3.99 per read right away, something thousands of writers do. But that masters in creative writing that I have keeps reminding me I just might be better than Amazon. Immodest? Maybe. But for now, I'll continue to commiserate with my writer friend over one Sloppy Joe at a time at Canter's and keep the faith that I'll win the lottery and find representation. My friend and I might just be the two in two thousand who, as accreting writers, grow slowly by accumulating layers of tenacity and patience.
If you just happen to be like us, keep the faith and don't give up easily.
#delicatessens, #Canter's, #writers, #personal essay, #blog, #blogger, #advice for writers
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