Who better to ask a writer about the writing process 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 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.
Brief author bios and references to what the writers were working on at the time of each conversation preface every q&a. Jonathan Franzen spoke with Donald Antrim shortly after the release of his family saga novel, The Corrections, and their discussion probes Franzen's own family life. Jennifer Egan expounds upon her breakthrough novel, A Visit from the Goon Squad, with Heidi Julavits.
The interviews are intimate and give rare insight into the creative processes, feelings and work habits of contemporary prose writers and poets. Sam Lipsyte and Christopher Sorrentino examine satire and first-person points of view. Steven Millhauser and Jim Shepard talk novellas. Oscar Hijuelos and Guillermo Cabrera Infante (both now deceased) delve into their Cuban heritages. Ben Marcus and Courtney Eldridge discuss the nuances of short stories and how teaching affects the writing life. Amy Hempel and Sharon Olds grapple with poetry and what it means to be "brave" on the page. A.M. Holmes and Tobias Wolff debate fiction versus nonfiction and how ideas often bubble up from the subconscious. Mary Gaitskill and Matthew Sharpe talk the nourishment of stories. And Jeffrey Eugenides and Jonathan Safran Foer commiserate on the long haul of writing a novel, especially as a writer's personal life undergoes changes.
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. --Kathleen Gerard, blogger at Reading Between the Lines
Shelf Talker: These fascinating, in-depth and intimate conversations between notable writers delve into writing as a craft and as a calling.