Interviews from the Edge: 50 Years of Conversations about Writing and Resistance

by Mark Yakich (Editor), John Biguenet (Editor)

Interviews from the Edge presents a selection of conversations, drawn from 50 years of the international journal New Orleans Review, that dive head-first into the most enduring aesthetic and social concerns of the last half century.

From reflections on the making of literature and films to personal accounts of writing inside racial divides and working against capital punishment, the writers, poets, and activists featured in this book offer not only a fresh perspective on our present struggles but also perhaps a way through them-for writers and readers alike.


“I think it's frightfully important, and this is really much more difficult than it sounds, only to say what you absolutely believe.” – Christopher Isherwood

“Most American writers probably do not think of their writing as a kind of activism. And it shouldn't have to be-I don't think we can impose that on writers-but it can be. I think for many writers, the ones I admire-it is.” – Viet Thanh Nguyen

“Do you become a writer because you desire to become famous and make a lot of money? Or do you become a writer because there's something you discovered, this spark, this flash, that you want to share with other human beings knowing that they can enter into the words too?” – Sister Helen Prejean

“The hardest part of developing a style is that you have to learn to trust your voice. If I thought of my style, I'd be crippled. Somebody else said to me a long time ago in France, 'Find out what you can do, and then don't do it.'” – James Baldwin

“As I have grown older, I have come to see that the romantic notion of the outsider in love with death doesn't solve a thing. It only makes life worse. We have to find ways to create communities.” – Valerie Martin

Genres: Writing

296 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 21, 2019

Reviews

[Riley Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps I’ll extend this review later, but for now I’ll just say: there was nothing revelatory in this book for me. It was pleasant to learn about other writers and their process, but for the most part these are not writers “from the edge.” They’re award winners with privileged backgrounds and immense success, or tenured academics. There are a few people who write from the edge, but not at the time of the interview. This publication seems to take few risks, though they assume they are on the cutting edge of lit and art.

Given the title I was hoping for more radicalism. Mostly, it was a pleasant read about how much writers like writing.

The Borges interview was my favorite because he was so damn grumpy. It was hilarious.

Good read, but don’t expect to feel very fired up! If you’re a writer, it’s a good way to think about your own process and what you want from writing.

The interviewers spent so much time praising the people they were talking to that at times it was uncomfortable… That was a consistent feeling I had. The authors have to respond to many compliments they either don’t want or too readily accept.

Lots of good quotes in here to pull out, if you want to take the time.

[Nikolay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting cross-talk between authors. Luisa Valenzuela for example on the relevance of Jorge Luis Borges: he's "shy." Also, this is apparent in his interview in this same book. His voice is very distinct among the voices of all these revolutionaries who have something to say about racism, feminism, politics. Borges talks instead about the mundanities of life, and the chaos they create. You get the sense he leads a life that spills into his work. Also about Borges: he's a "writer for writers, not for readers."

Apart from the cross-talk, you get a nice cross-section of the tribulations and accolades of various writers in the past 50 years, told chronologically and with much side conversation about who's reading who, who's in whose circles. I was drawn in because of the crash course on liberal arts. These are the artists who know how to talk about art (except maybe Borges whose conversation is like a piece of art). I didn't get that sense of motivation and wit that books about writing often strive for, but it is a well-rounded introduction to some new and old names.