Interview with a Hero

Paul Auster | The A.V. Club




Auster has long been one of my literary heroes. He really turned me onto literature in a new way and it's unlikely that I'd be writing were it not for him.

Early on I tried to emulate him, but didn't quite hit the mark. Now, I'm just happy that I read so much of his work, especially his less fictional stuff which informed so much of my knowledge of literature and gave me a real approach to the craft.

I've found my own voice and am honing my vision. More importantly, I'm honing my craft and figuring out this whole "plot" and "narrative" thing.

Beginnings.

Middles.

Ends.

After reading this interview with Auster, I am left with the question of whether or not I want to tackle any issues from the "news." Topical, timely stuff. 9/11 or the past 8 years of misery imposed by the Loser in Chief.

I've spun off from certain themes which can relate to that Loser, but to hit that directly feels like biting off a LOT. It would be so important to hit every note perfectly, because interjecting recent historical facts bring up so many fresh feelings for the audience.

For instance, just bringing up 9/11 in conversation is still somewhat awkward, it seems. People don't want to talk about it. So, from that I conclude that feelings are still raw.

Cheney, et. al. Used 9/11 to their own ends. Thus, no real healing was able to occur. They used that horrible event to drive a wedge in the populace and that wedge remains, I fear.

Hmm... Perhaps this is why it needs to be written about. With compassion and with the aim of finding truth and finding the human lessons we had the possibility of learning but which were switched with the lessons of hatred and MORE violence.

I now need to find the time to read Delillo's Falling Man. Of course, Auster's A Man in the Dark is on my list as well.