Writers at Work

Todd Goddard

With me on this episode of Writers at Work is Todd Goddard, author of Devouring Time: Jim Harrison, A Writer's Life, the first biography of the protean American novelist, poet and screenwriter, Jim Harrison. Harrison's output indicates the magnitude of the task that confronted Todd, 21 novels and novellas, 20 volumes of poetry, essays, memoirs and other non-fiction works, and contributions to screenplays including the adaptation of his novella, Legends of the Fall.
As Todd reveals, Harrison forged a unique, a uniquely American form of storytelling through his connection to the land, to spiritual matters, by a voracious appetite for reading that began in early childhood, and by friendships with many of his contemporaries in the arts. Perhaps fittingly, Harrison died at his writing desk, pen in hand, in 2016 at age 78.
Todd Goddard earned his PhD in Literary Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his JD at the University of Connecticut Law School. He is an associate professor of Literary Studies at Utah Valley University. In Devouring Time, the scholarship is obvious and deftly distributed, but what's most wonderful about it is how Todd brings Harrison to such vivid life.
As Carl Hiaasen, who was a friend of Harrison said, "The biography is raw and revealing, yet with a sensitive eye for both the pain and the talent that made Jim one of modern America's most intriguing poets and novelists."

Robbie Arnott

With me on this episode of Writers at Work is Robbie Arnott, whose latest novel is DUSK, the hypnotic tale of adult twins, Iris and Floyd, who are in pursuit of a deadly puma across the Tasmanian wilderness. That desperate pursuit is also an attempt to escape from the reputation of their outlaw parents and perhaps find a place where they can belong.
DUSK is Robbie's fourth novel. His previous works have been acknowledged by nominations from many literary awards in Australia and beyond, including the Dylan Thomas Prize for Young Writers. His earlier novels, FLAMES, THE RAIN HERON, and LIMBERLOST are all available in the States. Last week, it was announced that Robbie was the winner of the ARA Historical Novel Prize, one of the richest literary awards in Australia, for DUSK. Of that novel, The Economist said, "This is a propulsive novel of survival and betrayal enriched by arresting depictions of nature." The Guardian added, "Arnott has an astonishing facility with language, and his prose imbues the Tasmanian wilderness with an extraordinary beauty."
I fully agree with those assessments.

Addie E. Citchens

With me today on Writers at Work is Addie E. Citchens, author of the new novel DOMINION, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. A family drama set in Dominion, Mississippi, it unfolds through the eyes of two women, Priscilla, wife of an abusive and well-to-do preacher and mother to five talented sons, and Diamond, girlfriend to Wonder Boy, the youngest of those five young men. Though warm and witty, the story is infused with a sense of dread on every page.
It is Addie E. Citchens’ debut novel. Addie's work has appeared in the New Yorker, the Paris Review, and Oxford America's Best of the South, among other publications. Her writing about the blues and its history appeared in Mississippi Folklife and on the Mississippi Arts Hour. Earlier this year, her short story “That Girl” won the O. Henry Prize. It was originally published in the New Yorker and can be found on that magazine's website.
Calling it, “absolutely outstanding,” of DOMINION Roxane Gay said, “it captures church, community, the South, and the gulf between the haves and have-nots with precision.” As a stranger to Priscilla and Diamond's world, I found DOMINION both captivating and an education, and a wonderful read.

Steven C. Smith

My guest on this episode of Writers at Work is Steven C. Smith, author of HITCHCOCK AND HERRMANN: THE FRIENDSHIP & FILM SCORES THAT CHANGED CINEMA. Before we proceed, a little story. Back in 2011, I proposed to the Wall Street Journal a story on the centennial of the birth of Bernard Herrmann.
Securing the assignment, I traveled to the University of Southern California in Santa Barbara to examine their Herrmann archives that includes almost all of his film scores, all written in Herrmann's own hand. I assumed an archivist would stay with me and help me see how Herrmann composed and orchestrated his great works.
But the archivist left me alone among pages and pages of scores. I was lost. I come to music by rock and folk. My sight reading is limited to top line melodies and maybe the baseline. Herrmann wrote for a full orchestra or unusual combination of instruments.
In one score, I recall, there were parts for seven organs to be played simultaneously. To help me understand what I had seen, I made two phone calls. One to John Williams, the composer and conductor, who earlier in his career played piano on Herrmann's sessions. The other was to Steven C. Smith, today's guest and author of A HEART AT FIRE’S CENTER: THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF BERNARD HERRMANN, an extraordinary biography I had read years earlier. Steven was very patient when he explained to me what Herrmann had achieved with his masterworks. For his first Herrmann book, Steven C. Smith received the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award.
Variety said that Herrmann book was responsible for, "A huge uptick of interest in that once neglected now practically deified film composer." Steven also produced some 200 documentaries about film and music, and is a four-time Emmy nominee.

Catherine Conybeare

With me today on Writers at Work is Catherine Conybeare, author and academic, who is widely acknowledged as an authority on Augustine of Hippo, known to many as St. Augustine. Katharine's new book is AUGUSTINE THE AFRICAN, which considers him in the context of his African heritage. He was born in Thagaste, a city in present-day Algeria in North Africa.
After about five years in Milan and Rome, agitated years according to the author, and following the death of his mother and son, he returned to the family home and in his mid-30s was ordained in Hippo, also in present-day Algeria. That remained his base until his death at age 75.
Catherine is the Lesley Clark Professor in the Humanities, and professor of Greek, Latin, and Classical Studies at Bryn Mawr. Her research centers on late antiquity, especially the writings of St. Augustine. She's the author of four previous books, including THE IRRATIONAL AUGUSTINE, and more than 80 articles and reviews. As a lay reader, I found AUGUSTINE THE AFRICAN to be a marvel.
One of the reasons is the quality of the prose. Though it is fortified with evidence that supports her conclusions, the story is never overburdened with gratuitous detail and it flows beautifully. What comes across is her delight in having discovered a new way to look at a man she describes as one of the most influential writers and thinkers in the history of humankind.

Anu Valia

With me on this episode of Writers at Work is writer, director, producer and actor Anu Valia, whose debut feature film, WE STRANGERS, is now streaming, very likely on your favorite service. Anu has already accumulated a resume bursting with achievement. Her first mainstream success was LUCIA, BEFORE AND AFTER, the short film she wrote and directed that won the 2017 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Jury Award.
She directed episodes of TV shows including NEVER HAVE I EVER, MIXED-ISH, LOVE LIFE, A.P. BIO, AND JUST LIKE THAT, THE BIG DOOR PRIZE, and THE AFTERPARTY. She became part of the Marvel cinematic universe as director of SHE-HULK: ATTORNEY AT LAW, shown on Disney+. Now we have WE STRANGERS. Let me read to you the Rotten Tomatoes review.
"Quick-witted cleaner Rayelle takes a strange new job that spirals into the surreal when she claims she can speak to the dead. We Strangers is a darkly funny, sharp slice-of-life story about identity, power, and the quiet lines that divide us."
Any writer-director would be pleased with such a review. Let's find out what it means to Anu Valia.

Charlie English

Joining me on this episode of Writers at Work is Charlie English, author of THE CIA BOOK CLUB. Its subtitle tells why I found, and I think you will find, Charlie's latest to be so fascinating: The Secret Mission to Win the Cold War with Forbidden Literature.
From its headquarters in Manhattan, the CIA Book Club secretly sent millions of banned titles, pamphlets and other reading material into the East. By the 1980s, illicit literature was so pervasive in Poland that the state censorship machine was rendered all but useless. Soon the Iron Curtain fell. As Charlie confirms with his amazing tale, books really can set us free. Charlie is a former reporter and editor for the Guardian and a fellow of the Royal Geographic Society. He's the author of three nonfiction books that demonstrate an open-minded curiosity. He'll be speaking with us from London.

Thomas Perry

You may have heard that Thomas Perry, the best-selling mystery writer, died this week at age 78. I was immediately saddened by the news, not just for the passing of a skilled, dependable, and imaginative author, but for the loss of someone who had become a friend. Though Tom and I were members of the mystery community, I hadn't had the pleasure of getting to know him and his wife, Jo, also an acclaimed writer, until fairly recently. They went quickly to the top of my list of people I would seek at conferences for companionship and counsel. In this interview, recorded in February, I trust you'll get a sense of why I so admired Thomas Perry. 
My guest on this episode of Writers at Work is author Thomas Perry, whose latest thriller is PRO BONO. Thomas had a long, exemplary career as a mystery and thriller writer. His debut, THE BUTCHER'S BOY, in 1983 won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel from the Mystery Writers of America.
It was the first in a series in which three subsequent novels appeared three separate decades apart. His VANISHING ACT, featuring his recurring character Jane Whitefield, was named by Parade magazine as one of the 101 Best Mysteries of All Time. Tom was a PhD in literature, wrote and or produced for such TV shows as Star Trek, The Next Generation and Simon and Simon.
He's enjoying well deserved attention these days, thanks to the FX series The Old Man, based on his 2017 novel of the same name. We of a certain vintage applaud Tom for creating a hearty protagonist who is AARP eligible but hardly in need of assistance.
Since then, he's published eight more novels, including additions to the Butcher's Boy and Jane Whitefield series. Last year's HERO introduced readers to Justin Poole, a private security agent for Hollywood celebrities and the 1%. Booklist, Kirkus and Deadly Pleasures magazine called HERO the best thriller of the year. How lucky we would all be if we maintain such high standards across more than four decades and through 31 novels.