My So-Called Pen Name

The use of pseudonyms has a long and respected history in the world of letters. In the past, female writers with high-minded literary aspirations (such as George Eliot -- real name Mary Ann Evans -- and the Bronte sisters) adopted male pen names in order to be taken seriously by the establishment. Other writers, such as Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain, have adopted pen names because their real names seemed too ordinary or otherwise out-of-step with the work they were producing. Pen names help writers to shape their image and their message. This doesn't just mean improving marketing and sales, although that can be part of it; it's also about the writer creating his own identity and advancing his own story, in writer-like fashion. The poet James Dickey (actually his real name) has become famous after his death for all the half-truths he told as a way of advancing his own mythology. But the truth is that writers as artists used to creating stories and characters do this impulsively to some extent; they experiment with their identities and consider how their persona fits with the writing.

Hemingway's study (original photo).  Hemingway did not use a pen name.

The story of my own pen name, which barely qualifies as a pen name at all, is rather mundane in comparison to the stories of these great writers, of course. When publishing, I use the name "D. Brian Anderson," which is an abbreviated form of my actual full name "David Brian Anderson."  Clever, yes? I have been doing this since my first nonfiction book was published, but why? At first glance, it might seem rather pretentious (and it is considered pretentious, by some) to use a first initial like this, as if I fashioning myself to be some kind of W. Somerset Maugham or F. Scott Fitzgerald.

But the truth is that I adopted my "pen name" because there were too many other Brian Andersons lurking around. It turns out it's a very ordinary name.  When I worked for the Lunar and Planetary Institute, a NASA subcontractor, there were at least two other Brian Andersons working for NASA in the Houston area at the same time. I used to get annoying calls from a collection agent looking for one of them.

And that's the least of it. There are several semi-famous Brian Andersons, people who are well known and well respected in their fields -- certainly more well known than I am.  There's Brian Anderson the professional skateboarder, Brian Anderson the sportscaster,  Brian Anderson the retired major-league pitcher, Brian Anderson the current outfielder, and Brian Anderson the Australian academic.

This is just the top of the list. I used to have a more comprehensive list on my old geocities website (since deleted). It seemed weird and interesting to collect these in-name-only doppelgangers.

So as it was, when you google "Brian Anderson," you're going to get a whole lot of people besides me.  You may never find me, in fact.  But when you google "D. Brian Anderson," you'll get me (at least last time I checked).  Since I'm not a commercial author, this is not in any way designed to "increase sales," but it is just hoped that it might help the occasional reader or fellow writer get in touch. 

P.S. Here's an article I found while researching this post; it's a general reflection on the idea of using first initials.

School Nightmares

A common anxiety-based nightmare, as confirmed by the very cool book The Pop-up Book of Nightmares, involves finding yourself in a classroom and realizing you haven't studied for a test or haven't been to school all semester. In my experience, the test usually has something to do with math, and it's usually a high-school setting.  This common nightmare is of course closely related to the one in which you realize you are naked in school or in some other public setting.  In the latter nightmare, you're literally dealing with your fear of being exposed, whereas in the former, you're facing the fear of being exposed as an intellectual or academic fraud. Often, there's the added pressure of the clock running out, or the time being hard to figure out.

In my most recent school-based nightmare, I'm taking the GRE and I can't find a pencil that is sharp enough, and then when I try to sharpen one, the sharpener grinds it into a nub. In another recent dream, I find myself waking up in the classroom, hungover, and the instructor tells me I have ten minutes to prepare for my presentation, which I know I have carefully prepared, but I don't have it with me. I rush back to my dormitory room, but I can't find the right folder -- just lots of other folders, and they're all wet or fall apart when I pick them up. (I'm using the literary present to describe the action of these dreams.)

Nightmares like this raise all sorts of interesting questions, like what did people have nightmares about before school or automobiles existed?  I also wonder if people who haven't continued in school continue to have school nightmares.  I haven't been in undergraduate school for almost 25 years, but in that time, I think I've been teaching or taking classes for all but four years.  I can't remember if I had a lot of school dreams during those four years, but I would bet that I did not. 

I also have nightmares about not being prepared to teach a class or facing down particularly disruptive students, and even some pleasant dreams about appreciative students, but the most common nightmare by far has me returning to school as a student, facing down my lack of preparedness or dealing with my intellectual shortcomings. In addition to still being a student myself (a student of guitar and a doctoral student), having this nightmare makes me more compassionate toward students, as it helps me remember how difficult and stressful going to school can be.