Sunday, October 16, 2011

Interviews with Writers for Your Sunday Pleasure

You may not be a lover of NPR the way that I am, so you may not have realized how many great interviews with writers have taken place in the past week or two.  For your Sunday listening pleasure, I'm happy to offer these links.

Writer Chris Bohjalian writes compelling books, and he gives a great interview on the Diane Rehm show.  What would you do for your art?  Would you undergo simulated drowning in an airplane?  Bohjalian does, and it's fascinating to hear about.

Margaret Atwood has just put together a book about the art and practice of science fiction that sounds wonderful.  Hear her talk about it here.  When will this woman win the Nobel Prize?  She is one of the greatest, if not THE GREATEST, writers of her generation.

Art Spiegelman talks about Maus and MetaMaus here.  He talks about his father's desire for his son to have a good job, and I laughed out loud when Spiegelman noted that his father didn't realize that there would be no secure jobs in the 21st century.  He talks a bit about the future of animation and eBooks--facets I hadn't really considered before I heard him talk.

I heard this interview with poet Tracy K. Smith over a month ago, but it's worth mentioning again.  What a great interview.  Life on Mars is as fabulous as the interview led me to expect it would be.

A good interview with a writer, whether it's via podcast or magazine article or radio or a bound collection of interviews, a good interview makes me want to head to my computer/notebook/legal pad and start putting words to paper.  These interviews do just that. 

So, let's have virtual brunch:  good coffee, stout tea, scones, coffee cake--whatever your joy.  Let's listen to an interview or two.  Let's write together.

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