"... if you're constantly digging into your self to find your self, you're just going to create a whole you'll fall through..." -Tobias Wolff
This week I'm reading Back In The World: Stories, by Tobias Wolff. I'm a little embarrassed to say this is my first time reading his work, but it certainly will not be the last. His content, the stories in this collection, get at the heart of what I'm interested in writing. Normal people living in a normal world. That's an understatement, because who is to say what is normal? I don't read mass market stuff. But my impression of 'mass market stuff' is that its characters are, despite some trigger to start the story, meant to live on a pedestal. The characters of back in the world are people we pass on the street, maybe even people we know, but are never allowed inside their head- with Wolff at the pen, we're allowed to know their deepest desires and in end feel deep empathy for them.
The first clip has a sucky interviewer, but Wolff rises to the occasion and eloquently finishes her questions with astounding answers.
At 4:00 there's a great conversation on finding your voice.
At 13:00 he talks at length on Hemingway as multifaceted inspiration.
At 20:00 he talks about teaching writing and makes a funny quip about Cormac Mccarthy.
The interview is concluded with "Why is art is essential?" at 25:30
This is a super short conversation on the vitality of a short story.
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