Charles S. Isaacs is known as a schoolteacher, college professor, social activist, community organizer, financial analyst, ghostwriter, Congressional aide, gambler, real estate consultant, storyteller, and occasional journalist.
His undergraduate studies were in Mathematics (LIU-Brooklyn), after which he attended the University of Chicago Law School. His later graduate work was in the Social Sciences, earning an M.A. (New School for Social Research) and a Ph.D. (The Union Institute & University). In recent decades, he has been a commercial real estate broker and adviser, exclusively representing New York non-profits.
His published works include fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. Recent speaking engagements have been at the CUNY Graduate Center, the Brooklyn Historical Society, the American Educational Research Association and the Cornwall Public Library.
He currently resides with his wife Carole in Newburgh, New York and accommodated me with this interview.
Charles, what lured you to write AVENGING ANGEL: Love and Death in Old Brooklyn?
My first novel had a lot of "me" in it. I didn't want to do this again, so I created two characters with whom I had nothing in common, and who had nothing in common with one another. One is a survivor of a racially motivated childhood rape. The other is an Italian-American private eye with mob connections. Once these characters became fleshed out, they wrote the story. It was inevitable that two issues I care about deeply, Violence Against Women and Racism, became major themes.
Can you explain the importance of the dedication, of your book, to readers?
Cassandra Monroe, the main character, begins by simply acting out her rage. She evolves to become a purposeful champion of endangered women. She fights back. The mother of Mike Borelli, the supporting character, was battered by her alcoholic husband, with no way to fight back.
I dedicated the book to both: to Women Who Fight Back and to Those Who Can't.
What part of the story was the hardest for you to write?
I find describing sexual encounters kind of tricky. The challenge is to get across what form they take without being too graphic. What I've found is that "less is more."
Can you tell us a little about the causes you've been involved with and the change you have seen happen over the years?
During the Vietnam War, I fought to end it. Since then, Anti-Racist work has been kind of the through-line of my life. What's changed there? Every time I think progress has been made, a white cop kills a black man, or boy, or the legitimacy of our African-American president is challenged. Much more needs to be done.
Is there one message that is more important than others in your life?
As one wise philosopher put it, "Love is the only rational act."
What is your most memorable moment?
That would have to be the day I first met the beautiful woman who became my wife.
Is there anything you’d like to tell readers?
If we don't fight back, the racists, the misogynists and the greedy will walk all over us.