Books in the Literary Conversations Series series

During the three decades since the Sunday Times trumpeted North Toward Home as "the finest evocation of an American boyhood since Mark Twain", Willie Morris (1934-1999) wrote seventeen other books. Conversations with Willie Morris collects twenty-five fascinating and incisive conversations with a man who confronted the turbulent issues of his generation.

To read these interviews given between 1969 and 1996 is to gain insights into William Kennedy's high seriousness in pursuing the craft of fiction and to witness the artistic growth of this remarkable writer. The interviews in this collection reveal how the opportunities and challenges in Kennedy's writing life parallel those other contemporary writers have faced in the last years of the century.

Grace Paley's contribution to American literature, while comparatively small in volume, has been substantial in impact. With a voice very much her own, Paley has been a critical force in post-World War II American culture, particularly at its controversial centers. In this collection of interviews from 1978 to 1995 Paley elaborates on the many forces that have influenced her and her writing.

Interviews with the author of Catch-22

The author of more than twenty-five books, Percival Everett has established himself as one of America's - and arguably the world's - premier twenty-first-century fiction writers. Interviews collected in this volume display Everett's abundant wit as well as the independence of thought that has led to his work's being described as "characteristically uncharacteristic".

In this collection of thirty interviews compiled by John Cheever's biographer, Cheever moves from gentlemanly reticence in the early pieces to forthright commentary upon a variety of subjects in the later ones. This admirably articulate author gives answers that are satisfying to the curious, though the expression of his views is very much under his control.

This collection of interviews traces Andre Dubus' career beginning in 1967 with the publication of his novel The Lieutenant, to his final interview given right before his death. In between are conversations that focus on his shift to essay writing during his long recovery period as well as those that celebrate his return to fiction with the publication of "The Colonel's Wife" in 1993.

United States Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey describes her mode as elegiac. The interviews featured in Conversations with Natasha Trethewey provide intriguing artistic and biographical insights into her work. The Pulitzer Prize-winning poet cites diverse influences, from Anne Frank to Seamus Heaney.

The interviews and conversations contained in this volume derive from four decades of Stanley Kunitz's distinguished career. They touch on aesthetic motifs in his poetry, the roots of his work, his friendships in the sister arts of painting and sculpture, his interactions with Robert Lowell and Theodore Roethke, and his comments on a host of poets.

Features interviews with one of the most celebrated science-fiction authors of the last 50 years. This book draws together 23 interviews from a variety of media and sources - print and online journals and fanzines, academic journals, newspapers, blogs, and podcasts.

In this collection of interviews Maxine Hong Kingston talks about her life, her writing, and her objectives. As she answers her critics and readers, she both clarifies the differences and exults in the difficulties of distinguishing between the remembered and the re-created.

Michael Chabon (b. 1963) has become one of contemporary literature's most acclaimed novelists by pursuing his singular vision across all boundaries of genre and medium. Conversations with Michael Chabon collects eighteen revealing interviews with the renowned author. Spanning nearly twenty years, these interviews shed new light on the central concerns of Chabon's fiction.

A collection of interviews with one of America's most influential authors, music journalists, and cultural critics. In this book, the author has explored the connections among figures, sounds, and events in culture, relating unrelated points of departure, mapping alternate histories and surprising correspondences.

Between 1972 and 2001, Barry Hannah (1942-2010) published eight novels and four collections of short stories. A master of short fiction, Hannah is considered by many to be one of the most important writers of modern American literature. Conversations with Barry Hannah collects interviews published between 1980 and 2010.

James Salter has been known throughout his career as a "writer's writer", acclaimed by such literary greats as Susan Sontag, Richard Ford, John Banville, and Peter Matthiessen for his lyrical prose, his insightful and daring explorations of sex, and his examinations of the inner lives of women and men. Conversations with James Salter collects interviews published from 1972 to 2014.

Presents the first collection of interviews with the renowned poet of Home/Bass and other much-admired works. Spanning thirty years and drawn from literary and scholarly journals and other media, these interviews offer insights into his poetic innovation of blues and jazz and his mastery of black vernacular in poetry.

Maurice Sendak (1928-2012) stands out as one of the most respected, influential authors of the twentieth century. The interviews collected here, many of which are hard to find or previously unpublished, span from 1966 to 2011. They show not only Sendak's shifting artistic interests, but also changes in how he understood himself and his craft.

Since the publication of his first novel, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, launched him to fame, Michael Chabon (b. 1963) has become one of contemporary literature's most acclaimed novelists. Conversations with Michael Chabon collects eighteen revealing interviews with the renowned author that shed new light on the central concerns of Chabon's fiction.

Since the publication of Serena in 2008 earned him a nomination for the PEN/Faulkner fiction prize, Ron Rash (b. 1953) has gained attention as one of the South's finest writers. Conversations with Ron Rash collects twenty-two interviews with the award-winning author and provides a look into Rash's writing career from 1994 to 2015.

"He again tops the crowd - he surpasses himself, the old iron brought to the white heat of simplicity." So said Robert Lowell of the poetry of Stanley Kunitz (1905-2006). The interviews contained in this volume touch on aesthetic motifs in his poetry, the roots of his work, his friendships, his interactions with Lowell and Theodore Roethke, and his comments on a host of poets.

From her first interview, originally published over three decades ago in her native tongue Bengali in the Calcutta journal Desh and appearing here for the first time in English, to an in-depth interview in 2007 granted specifically for this collection, this volume provides a candid look at the woman who has been called the grande dame of diasporic Indian literature.

Reveals an artist and activist whose work deftly negotiates boundaries of feminism, nationalism, and film. The intimacy of these collaborations or conversations between Bambara (1939-1995) and her interviewers provides an excellent and necessary resource for those interested in scholarly approaches to her fiction.

Offers a unique glimpse into the creative process of a major American poet, writer, editor, anthologist, and teacher. The volume probes in depth Donald Hall's evolving views on poetry, poets, and the creative process over a period of more than sixty years.

An outspoken advocate for the oppressed and exploited, Angela Davis has written extensively about the intersections between race, class, and gender; Black liberation; and the US prison system. This volume explores Davis's role as an educator, scholar, and activist who continues to engage in important and significant social justice work.

An outspoken advocate for the oppressed and exploited, Angela Davis has written extensively about the intersections between race, class, and gender; Black liberation; and the US prison system. This volume explores Davis's role as an educator, scholar, and activist who continues to engage in important and significant social justice work.