Writer Ed Plum

Ed Plum taught social studies and English integrated studies for thirty years at Barrington High School.  A Scripps-Howard grant funded Ed’s masters’ thesis, “A History of the Church of God (New Dunkers) 1848-1962.  He authored eight articles from the thesis for The Brethren Encyclopedia, Vols. 1 and 2, Philadelphia, 1983. He’s working on a historical fiction novel.

You were a high school social studies teacher. What historical time period intrigues you most?

The question is somewhat like asking who my favorite child is. I am most intrigued by periods of major cultural, technological, intellectual, and social change because of the varied responses to these changes. I’ve spent a fair amount of time studying the nineteenth century that created the political contours for the world I’ve lived in for 74 years.  Classical Greece and Chinese civilization interest me for the philosophy and literature.

What made you decide to write rather than read, study or teach from books?

 My pedagogy prepared me to write historical fiction.  I collaborated with others in designing social study problems for the classroom.  Students assumed a character’s identity from a specific time, dressed in costume, and attempted to achieve a particular objective, i.e., convince a Medieval town council to adopt sanitary measures to prevent the spread of a plague without revealing one’s modern identity. Writing a historical novel contains a more compelling narrative and has a wider impact than instructional material.

Your story is set during World War II with characters who are conscientious objectors (COs). How did you go about choosing this as a subject for your novel?
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