Dan Greenburg
turned his experi-
ence working with
tigers in captivity
into Claws, a chil-
dren's book due
out next summer,
Greenburg, in a personal exer-
cise while attending the University
of Illinois, rewrote "The Three
Bears" using Salinger's style and
went on to create two more ver-
sions, one as if written by
Hemingway and another as if
written by James Joyce. Packaging
the tales as Three Bears in Search
of an Author, Greenburg succeeded
in making a sale to Esquire maga-
zine and was given other assign-
ments.
After earning his master's
degree at the University of
California at Los Angeles, he found
work at an advertising agency,
using both his art and writing
skills. Editing became his focus
with a move to New York. His for-
mer editor at Esquire hired him to
work at Eros, a magazine drawing
controversy because of its erotic
content.
During a conversation with a
Jewish colleague at Eros,
Greenburg came up with the idea
for How to Be a Jewish Mother. The
book's success anchored him into
a freelance lifestyle.
"The kind of mother I was real-
ly describing was foreign born:'
Greenburg says. "The reaction I
got from my non-Jewish friends
was that I was describing their
mothers. I guess things like serv-
ing certain foods and eliciting
guilt are pretty universal."
Jewish Sensibility
Bullying is another universal issue
addressed by Greenburg — in
print through The Secrets of
Dripping Fang and in his own life
through confronting tough people
and situations.
"The male protagonist [in
Dripping Fang] stands up to most
bullies and doesn't give them a
the author
chance to bully
explains. "He stands up to wolves,
and the wolves back down. When I
„TN
October 20 2005
was a little boy, I
always let kids bully
me because I didn't
know better. I
would know how to
stand up to bullies
now because I've
stood up to a diffi-
cult boss and taken
on risky adventures
to use as writing
subjects."
Those adventures
included interacting with tigers
raised in captivity, accompanying
fire fighters into burning build-
ings, flying with a stunt pilot and
taking part in voodoo ceremonies.
The experience with tigers has
been turned into Claws, a chil-
dren's book due out next summer.
"There's nothing overtly Jewish
in my new series, but I am a
Jewish writer whether I'm writing
about Jewish themes or not:' says
Greenburg, who attended and later
worked at Camp Ramah in
Wisconsin. "I can't help but write
with a Jewish sensibility."
Greenburg, who has "waxed and
waned" in religious outlook,
reports a more intensified family
observance. His third wife, Judith,
also a children's book writer,
decided on a formal conversion
into Judaism as did his son, Zack
O'Malley Greenburg.
Born of the author's religiously
mixed second marriage, Zack
inspired the author's The Zack
Files series and starred as the
young boy with an incurable dis-
ease in the 1992 film Lorenzo's Oil.
(The "retired" actor is now a stu-
dent at Yale).
"I belong to a Reform syna-
gogue, and I have become very
attached to if,' Greenburg says.
"When Zack was in a teen group
there, I was invited to speak about
my career. They had me come
back and do writing workshops,
and last year, they asked me to
lead the group. I just have a ball
with these kids."
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59