Who
better to ask a writer about writing than another writer? For more than 30
years, BOMB, a
magazine of essays, literature and visual portfolios,
has been publishing in-depth interviews with artists conducted by artists of
all disciplines. In BOMB: The Author Interviews, publisher and editor Betsy Sussler
collects 35 of the best conversations between influential and intellectual
authors of world literature.
The
Q&As are intimate and delve into aspects of the writer's
craft, including the importance of sentences, rhythm and pacing, creating
characters, narrative shaping, literary influences, editing and revision, the
publishing industry and the demands of the writer's life amid more mundane
concerns. They are intimate and give rare insight into the creative processes,
feelings and work habits of contemporary prose writers and poets such as Sam
Lipsyte, Steven Millhauser, Courtney Eldridge, Amy Hempel, Tobias Wolff and
Jeffrey Eugenides. Each conversation differs in topic and tone. Clipped, clever
banter infuses the exchange between Kathy Acker and Mark Magill, while a host
of the Q&As convey mutual admiration, as evidenced when Junot Díaz and
Edwidge Danticat discuss their ancestry and what it's like to be "book
obsessed."
Articulating the complexity of the craft, the challenges of the writing life and the impetus behind certain works sometimes proves difficult, but each dialogue sheds light onto the act of writing itself and the profound satisfaction in having created something lasting on the page. Such revelations are bound to be helpful and insightful to readers and other writers intrigued and mystified by the process.
Articulating the complexity of the craft, the challenges of the writing life and the impetus behind certain works sometimes proves difficult, but each dialogue sheds light onto the act of writing itself and the profound satisfaction in having created something lasting on the page. Such revelations are bound to be helpful and insightful to readers and other writers intrigued and mystified by the process.
Publication Date: November
4, 2014
Note: This review is a
reprint and is being posted (in a slightly different form) with the permission
of Shelf
Awareness. To read this review on Shelf Awareness: Reader's Edition (11/3/14),
click HERE
This review was also
featured (in a much longer form) on Shelf
Awareness: Book Trade (11/3/14). To read the longer review
click HERE