The Dissociative Disorder of Pen Names
“I suggest to my students that they write under a pseudonym for a week. That allows young men to write as women, and women as men. It allows them a lot of freedom they don't have ordinarily.” ― Joyce Carol Oates“While I was writing I assumed it would be published under a pseudonym, and that liberated me: what I wrote was exactly what I wanted to read.” ―Nicholson Baker * * * Remember the internet of the 90's, when that robot dude's voice announced, "You've got mail!" each time you logged on? It was around that time that I had to choose my first email address. I wasn't sure what to use, so on a whim, I used my middle name: Rasmenia.This was a name I'd kept to myself as much as I could. Not because there's something wrong with that name, but because I fell victim to the same insecurities of childish mockery and teasing as anyone else. Every time someone...