|
|
 |
1-On-One | |||||
|
Is it possible to be a good writer without being a good reader? Books were everything in my family. We didn't have a lot of material things when I was growing up, but I learned very early that my parents placed books in the same category as food and clothing: absolute necessities of life. As Annie Dillard says, if you want to be a writer, you must love sentences. According to a report of the Independent Book Publishing Association, over five million American adults belong to reading groups. What, do you believe, is the basis for this country's love for literature and books? To come together to discuss a book is to share new worlds and to know strange souls. I think that book groups are one of the best ways for individuals to connect and form community. Have you ever belonged to a reading group? I belong to a group that gathers every month to read poetry. The group had been together for more than twenty years when I joined ten years ago. It is all women, some writers, some lawyers, some psychologists, an artist. One member each month chooses which poet we'll read, selects a sample of representative poems, sends them to the group. She then introduces the poet with biographical information and a summary of criticism. We then read each poem aloud and discuss it. Sometimes I go there thinking I don't care for a particular poet's work, but after seven or eight minds have shared interpretations and reactions, I see it in a fresh light. What advice do you have for reading group members when it comes to selecting books for discussion? I think the best way to have a successful discussion is to choose a book for which at least one person in the group is a passionate advocate. I think it is great to do a mix of contemporary work and classics. What books are you reading now or do you plan to read? My nightstand has a pretty diverse pile of books on it right now. The Silver Age of Venice by Maurice Rowdon, a wonderfully written history book that is helping me with the novel I'm writing. Book of My Nights, a new collection of poems by my favorite living poet, Li-Young Lee. The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan--food for thought about the food we eat and our responsibilities to our planet and the other species who inhabit it. If you were stuck on a deserted island and could only bring one book with you to read, what would it be and why? Pilgrim At Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard. Wise, beautiful, timeless. If you could have dinner with 3 writers (dead or alive) who would they be and why? Jane Austen, Emily Dickinson and Louisa May Alcott. Because I think they'd enjoy each other, and the role of a dinner party host is first and foremost to provide good chemistry around the table. Have you ever read anything you're too embarrassed to admit (except in this interview)? No! Even so called "trashy reads" or "airport novels" can have something to teach about pace and plot and how to get readers to turn the page. Favorite book when you were a child? Lord of the Rings. I read it every spring for a few years back there. Favorite heroine in literature and why? Ada, in Cold Mountain, because she has the strength to change herself completely. Favorite hero in literature and why? Aragorn, in Lord of the Rings. Why not? Book that changed your life? E.B. White's story The Death of a Pig.
|
 |
||
|
||
 |