Category Archives: author interview
Q&A: Dinty W. Moore on Buddhism, creativity, kindness & taming the ego
Listen to where the writing wants to take you. Understand that the writing itself will often provide far richer material than your logical, predictable mind. Even more “intellect-driven” writing—for instance, a dissertation—can benefit from the cognitive leaps that occur when … Continue reading
Filed under author interview, discovery, REVIEW, revision, spirituality, working method
Dubus & Russo wonder: Why Memoir?
Just two (famous) novelists enjoyin’ their coffee & nonfiction Andre Dubus III and Richard Russo discuss their memoirs at The Daily Beast: “How strange to write a memoir to find out what happens.”—Richard Russo, author of the forthcoming Elsewhere: A … Continue reading
Filed under author interview, fiction, memoir, NOTED
Review/Q&A: Lee Martin’s ‘Such a Life’
Stay in love with the journey.—Lee Martin Such a Life by Lee Martin. University of Nebraska Press, 214 pp. Lee Martin, an accomplished novelist, is also a master of life stories. His memoir From Our House focuses on his fraught … Continue reading
Filed under author interview, creative nonfiction, essay-narrative, memoir, MFA, REVIEW, teaching
Review/Q&A: Alethea Black on ‘Lovely,’ faith & fiction, essays & cutting to bone
I can only speak for myself, but there’s something about writing at night that feels . . . sneaky. There’s an outlaw quality to it, combined, oddly enough, with a sense of being safe. It has an anaerobic, subterranean feel; … Continue reading
Filed under author interview, Dillard—Saint Annie, fiction, MFA, poetry, REVIEW, revision, spirituality, teaching
Cheryl Strayed on honesty in memoir
I was an avid journaler all through my twenties and I wrote in my journal every day of my hike, sometimes twice a day. That journal was incredibly helpful to me as I wrote “Wild.” I recorded many details and … Continue reading
Filed under author interview, honesty, immersion, memoir
Showalter: memoir is a ‘radical act’
My interview with Shirley Hershey Showalter concludes with her discussion of her writing process and of her vision for the potential for memoir, a “radical act,” to build peace in the world. Q: You prepared for writing a memoir by … Continue reading
Filed under author interview, memoir, poetry, spirituality, working method
Finding her memoir’s ‘topic sentence’
I want to prepare for the hour of my death by living one good day at a time. And I want to help others to do the same. —Shirley Hershey Showalter’s mission statement Shirley Showalter is an essayist, blogger, speaker, … Continue reading
Filed under author interview, electronic publishing, memoir, spirituality, working method
Q&A: a memoirist’s decade of discovery
Nina Hamberg, whose award-winning book Grip: A Memoir of Fierce Attractions I recently excerpted, answered questions about her motives and process. In the manner of Tobias Wolff’s great memoirs, Grip’s meaning is embedded in its story. A narrative of Hamberg’s … Continue reading
Filed under author interview, memoir, working method, workshopping
Q&A: Gregory Orr on ‘The Blessing’
Orr has distilled the anguish of his youth right down to its holy bones.—Booklist The Blessing: A Memoir by Gregory Orr. Council Oak, 209 pages. Gregory Orr’s The Blessing is one of the finest memoirs I’ve read. There are tons … Continue reading
Filed under author interview, memoir, REVIEW, structure
Q&A: Jim Minick on his earthy memoir
Desiring to grow things is surely in humans’ DNA, planted at least 10,000 years ago in our genetic code, not as old as the impulse to gather wild food, but tenured. As a boy and young man haunted by the … Continue reading
Filed under author interview, memoir, NOTED, REVIEW, structure
