The Very Telling, Conversations with American Writers
 Once again, Sarah Anne Johnson offers insightful interviews with some of today's most popular and accomplished writers. Steeped in a thorough knowledge of each writer's work, Johnson asks about a range of topics on the writing craft, nurturing fictional ideas, and the daily practice of writing. The authors offer insights and practical advice that will delight their fans and be cherished by aspiring writers.
Michael Cunningham recalls how the structure of The Hours evolved as he wrote it. Edwidge Danticat honors the Haitian storytelling tradition she encountered in her childhood. And Jonathan Lethem reflects on working from inside and outside the literary establishment.
Johnson's interviews have been praised for her "thoughtful and knowledgeable questions" (Bloomsbury Review) that "provoke thoughtful responses from her subjects" (Publishers Weekly) and provide "an opportunity to participate in intimate and often illuminating dialog" (Library Journal). Her previous collection, Conversations with American Women Writers (UPNE, 2004), was described as "17 miniature instruction books on craft" by Publishers Weekly.
Other writers interviewed include Rick Moody; Donna Tartt; Myla Goldberg; Mary Gaitskill; Ha Jin; Bret Anthony Johnston; Edward P. Jones; Chang-rae Lee; Alice Mattison; Nancy Rawles; Marilynne Robinson; le thi diem thuy; and Mary Yukari Waters.
Introduction ........... 5
A Bottomless Fascination with the Process Itself
MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM ....... 8
You Have to Live Your Characters' Lives with Them
EDWIGE DANTICAT ....... 36
I've Worked Very Alone and Very Privately
Mary Gaitskill ....... 59
Moving Through the Language on the Page
MYLA GOLDBERG ....... 79
Making the Sentences Fresh
HA JIN ....... 106
There is an unassailable victory in the very telling of a story
BRET ANTHONY JOHNSTON ....... 124
THE IMAGE YOU WOKE UP WITH
Edward P. Jones ....... 154
THE drama of consciousness
CHANG-RAE LEE ....... 171
Discovering the story word by word
JONATHAN LETHEM ....... 200
MY poems began to get more like stories
ALICE MATTISON ....... 240
WHEN YOU SEE A RULE, BREAK IT
Rick Moody ....... 263
I TRY TO WRITE RHYTHMICALLY
NANCY RAWLES ....... 286
AN INTENSIFIER OF EXPERIENCE
Marilynne Robinson ....... 307
character is the very lifeblood of fiction
DONNA TARTT ....... 318
writing certain experiences into the language
le thi diem thuy ....... 327
snatching at random bits of light
MARY YUKARI WATERS ....... 351
BIBLIOGRAPHY ........... 370 For ordering information visit University Press of New England or call 1-800-421-1561
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