Customer Reviews

Writers on the Air: Conversations About Books

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This review recently appeared in "Library Journal": "For this collection, essayist, editor, and book critic Seaman (In Our Nature: Stories of Wildness) culled interviews from her Chicago-based radio show, Open Books, in which she discusses the creative process and common assumptions about literature with a range of established, award-winning, and up-and-coming authors. As in the best author interviews that appear in the Paris Review, Seaman does not merely question her subjects--she engages them with her infectious enthusiasm and opinions, challenging them to articulate their methods, influences, and aesthetic judgments. In 'Worlds in Transition,' she talks to Alex Shakar about how he exploits the interstitial ground between full-blown sci-fi and literary fiction; in 'Worlds Within Worlds,' she examines the 'nexus between individual and society,' noting the importance of the neighborhood as 'a crucible of the self' in Stuart Dybek's work; and in 'Genre-Crossers,' she tackles the creative process head-on, discussing with Edward Hirsch the angelic and demonic forces of 'artistic possession.' She concludes with a look at creative nonfiction, exploring the complex and often misunderstood relationship between nature and culture. Authors interviewed include Margaret Atwood, T.C. Boyle, Julia Glass, and Phillip Lopate. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries.- Lee Ehlers, Greenville Cty. Lib. Syst., SC"