An Interview with . . . BWG Member and Author Peter J Barbour
Neurologist Peter J Barbour, M.D., retired his reflex hammer to become a full-time writer and illustrator. He is actively involved in Mussar, an ancient study of Jewish ethics, virtues, and mindfulness leading to character development. He participates in the process as a group facilitator and brings Mussar’s timeless wisdom to the writing his latest publication, Fifteen Keys, an action-adventure, coming-of-age novel for middle grade and young teens. His other works include a memoir,Loose Ends, three illustrated children’s books: Gus at Work, Oscar and Gus, and Tanya and the Baby Elephant, and over forty short stories that have appeared in e-journals and magazines. One of them, “The Fate of Dicky Paponovitch,” earned him Raconteur of the Month from the Susan Carol Publishing Co. He is a member of the Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC, and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. He lives in Oregon with his photographer wife. They enjoy traveling and the outdoors.
Bethlehem Writers Group interview by Janet Robertson
Bethlehem Writers Group: Your novel Fifteen Keys explores Jewish ethics as three young boys participate in a rite of passage. Can you talk about some of people they encounter, and the particular ethics being explored.
Peter J Barbour: Fifteen Keys is an action, adventure fantasy set in the Pacific Northwest in 1890. When a child reaches seventeen, they leave their village and travel for a year during which time they must find fifteen keys. Hank has just turned seventeen and doesn’t want to leave his home. He agrees to go when his younger brother and cousin elect to join him. The keys they are looking for are life lessons, ethical issues, illustrated by their adventures. Although the choice of ethical lessons is based on Mussar, an ethical study stemming from Orthodox Judaism, the morals depicted are universal. The boys meet Have Little, Too Much and Enough. They discover the value of simplicity, living within one’s means and the difference between wants and needs. Messyman represents disorder and the value of keeping things neat. A little man with a pointed hat in the redwood forest explores truth, trust, and faith.
BWG: I loved Messyman. There was so much stuff in his house that if you tripped and fell, you might never find your way out again. That’s so over-the-top, I found myself laughing out loud. As an author myself, I often find it difficult to write humor. Yet, not only in this novel, but in many of your short stories you employ humor. Can you speak to your process here? Give me some help, Pete. How do I incorporate humor?
PJB: This is hard. First, I’m not sure everyone finds me funny. In general, I try to approach life with a positive attitude, looking for humor in many situations. I see humor in most things. I look for incongruities, things that don’t seem to go together. I create tension, then defuse it in unexpected ways, perhaps with something absurd. Mostly though, I create by starting to write, sometimes with only a vague idea of where I’m going to end. Humor often just finds its way into what I’m writing and evolves with the story.
BWG: You are a retired physician. You practiced neurology. How did being a doctor impact your personal ethics?
PJB: Ethics is an important part of medicine. As a neurologist, I got to participate on the Ethics Committee at the hospital to help lend direction to situations that arose with patient care. Defending a patient’s right to choose; doing no harm; acting in the patient’s best interest, and treating patients fairly are the elements of medical ethics. Ethical principles applied in this context include compassion, honesty, humility, and honor, among others. Many issues that neurologists become involved with include the quality of life and death.
BWG: Did you study ethics as part of your religious training?
PJB: I didn’t have very much formal religious training. However, ethical principles were a part of my life. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, compassion, generosity, gratitude, truth, trust, honor, and humility were all part of lessons learned growing up. I was introduced to Mussar, an ethical study, approximately ten years ago. I was just about to retire from medicine. There was a position open on our Temple Board. I became the head of adult education. I created a committee. One of the members had experience with Mussar and suggested we introduce this to the Congregation. We brought in a speaker, created interest, and formed a group. Mussar involves individual study of the virtues, then group discussion, followed by practice, and then reflection. The emphasis is on understanding the excesses of too much, too little, and the balance between the two extremes. The part I really related to was practice and reflection. I felt it was important to share this with my grandchildren. Instead of keeping a journal to reflect, I wrote stories illustrating the various virtues. The grandkids enjoyed the stories and called them life lessons. I’ve facilitated groups for eight years and incorporated many of the short stories into Fifteen Keys.
BWG: Can you speak to how the ethics expressed here are different from those we might encounter in society in general? Where do you find yourself making different choices?
PJB: I believe the virtues studied here are universal and a part of every religion. I think that is one of its appeals. The big plus for me is that the purpose of study goes beyond an intellectual exercise. It is meant to be practical, mindful. Patience is a virtue. As I sit in traffic and start to become agitated and impatient, I think about the Mussar lesson on patience. Mussar teaches to lengthen the fuse, don’t react reflexively, assess what you can control and what you can’t. Ask yourself, “Does a watched pot ever boil?” Of course it does. Sing a song or listen to music, reflect on something you are grateful for. There are times to be patient, though, and times to act, as in the setting of danger or injustice.
BWG: You have several published books for children.
PJB: Children’s books: Gus at Work, Oscar and Gus, and Tanya and the Baby Elephant. All are available on Amazon.
BWG: How do you market yourself?
PJB: I have a webpage. I market myself mostly through social media. I am available to do lectures, book signing, and readings. I’ve read my children’s books in elementary schools and participated in Character Day at a middle school. I will be teaching a course on Mussar at the Lifelong Learning Institute, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA, via Zoom in the fall.
BWG: You are also an illustrator. I’ve often wanted to try my hand at this, but I don’t know the basics. Did you take a course? What software do you use? How did you get started?
PJB: I have not taken a formal course in illustration. I tried to in college but was refused admission because I was a science major. I do come from family of artists; my mother worked in watercolor and taught me her technique. Her brother was quite successful with oil painting. I like to draw, sculpt, and carve. I have completed two chess sets, one out of clay and the other molded plastic from carved wood. I began sketching herding scenes when we were trying to teach our soft-coated Wheaten Terrier how to tend sheep. We were never a very good team, he and I. I did learn humility in the process, however. He’d rather have fun chasing the sheep, scattering them all over the pasture. I started drawing pictures of what I’d like him to do. These drawings evolved into my children’s book Gus at Work. I use the drawing program Brushes Redux to create and color the drawings. I continue to use this program to create all my illustrative visual art. For leisure, I gave up watercolor and began using acrylics. I really like the vibrant colors and ease of use.
