William T Vollmann Central discussion
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Interviews, links, websources
Jpablobr wrote: "I'm new to the group, hi! This is the first thread I'm looking and while skimming over it, it seems like this link hasn't been shared yet:"It did get posted once. Now twice. Which is twice as nice!! Thanks and welcome to Central.
A lite feature article on Bill in the Sacramento Bee from the time of the release of Last Stories ::"Between the Lines: William T. Vollmann on ‘Last Stories’" by Allen Pierleoni 07/21/2014
http://www.sacbee.com/entertainment/b...
"Also in the works are another nonfiction title and two novels", that is, in addition to the coal/nuclear book. Please tell me that the "two novels" are the two remaining Dreams.
[this may be a redundant post, for which, my heart=felt apologies]
Don't think I've seen this one? A no-longer updated blog=thing with bunches of Vollmann things, including a pre-release alterna-cover of Imperial ::http://www.edrants.com/category/vollm...
If you've got the time, you might want to click on "comments" : I saw Michael Hemmingson in there somewhere, self-promoting a thing.
Updating that thing I posted way back re: William T. Vollmann: A Critical Study and Seven Interviews -- I've located the Braverman interview on-line and the audio for the Dushaane as follows ::5. Drinks With Tony, interview with Tony Dushane, 2005.
http://www.bookslut.com/features/2005...
http://www.drinkswithtony.com/william... (audio)
6. The Subversive Dialogues, with Kate Braverman, 2006.
http://www.sfbg.com/40/21/lit_convers...
http://katebraverman.com/interview.html (complete)
Here's something interesting I found - unable to determine if it has already been posted here:"Twists of Hate
Two fictional takes on the war in Iraq"
by William T. Vollmann
He discusses his own views on the Iraq war, as well as "Redeployment" and "The Corpse Exhibition," two works of fiction about the Iraq war.
http://www.bookforum.com/inprint/021_...
One of those indulgent pieces where a person describes their relationship with Bill and his books. Might be worth the skim ::"On William T. Vollmann: An Indulgence" by Justin Taylor
November 3, 2014 --:
http://electricliterature.com/on-will...
Concluding para begins, "All of this is a prelude to discussing the one thing that truly did—does—surprise me about my reunion with The Rainbow Stories, and that thing is Vollmann’s extraordinary, indeed exquisite, sense of control. What I as a young enthusiast took for pell-mell freedom and chaos is in fact the result of careful orchestration and staging, within individual stories and in terms of the collection as a whole. This doesn’t mean...." and I cut it there because it's one of those "of course there are flaws" comments which I find tedious and pandering all the time...
A brief bite ::"Between the Lines: A sip and a bite with Sacramento’s William T. Vollmann"
http://www.sacbee.com/entertainment/b...
http://www.yidian.org/blog.php?tid=16214Here's a transcribed Chinese Article from a foreign literature journal introducing the reader to Vollmann's work.
Here's my clunky translation of the title: The Talent, Ambition, and Achievement of a Master Craftsman: Entering William Vollmann's post-modern art world.
Gives a short biography, a short comparison to Pynchon, his stated influences (Tolstoy, Mishima, Faulkner), and a brief study of his work.
A Vollmann fan here would know most of this already, but it's interesting to see this in a completely different language. Also that they translated 'Rising Up and Rising Down' into "起与伏", roughly 'Rise and Fall'.
Hadrian wrote: "http://www.yidian.org/blog.php?tid=16214Here's a transcribed Chinese Article from a foreign literature journal introducing the reader to Vollmann's work.
Here's my clunky translation of the titl..."
That's really cool. Nice to see Vollmann being read all over the world.
Tattoo option=起与伏
Herding Vollmann's a little like herding cats."Letter of Recommendation: The Gnostic Scriptures"
APRIL 10, 2015
Letter of Recommendation By WILLIAM T. VOLLMANN
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/12/mag...
Fortunately, "I am no Gnostic. I reject the notion that we are imprisoned in the error called matter and that our creator may be deficient or even wicked. To me, matter is beauty, whether or not it includes error, and beauty’s inevitable decay is pure tragedy. I feel grateful to live in this world. But why it must be so cruel I will never understand. The Gnostic scriptures sometimes beguile me into believing that the real voice will awaken me. If that happens, I mean to get drunk from drinking light."
That is beautiful. Thanks for posting, N.R.
Very good piece. Thanks for posting Nathan.
Bill had reviewed this year's Pulitzer in fiction ::"Darkness Visible: ‘All the Light We Cannot See,’ by Anthony Doerr" May 8, 2014 --
“All the Light We Cannot See” is more than a thriller and less than great literature. As such, it is what the English would call “a good read.” Maybe Doerr could write great literature if he really tried. I would be happy if he did.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/11/boo...
I did three interviews with Vollmann. Here's one around the time of Royal Family: http://portable-infinite.blogspot.com...
Alexander wrote: "I did three interviews with Vollmann. Here's one around the time of Royal Family: http://portable-infinite.blogspot.com..."Many thanks for the interview!
ATJG wrote: "Bill's nightstand and other wonders: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/26/boo..."
Excellent! Thanks.
yeah that is fantastic - hopefully we will get some more good stuff as part of the press drive for DG
Bookworm [radio] interview (Part I) with Bill re: The Dying Grass ::"William T. Vollmann: The Dying Grass, Part I
The rise of corporate America begins with the ruthless acquisition of Indian land in this massively researched epic which evokes the language, the food, and the lost customs of the Nez Perce. This is the first of two conversations about William Vollman’s [sic! dammit!] novel of the 1877 war that destroyed the Nez Perce."
http://www.kcrw.com/news-culture/show...
Part II forthcoming.
A short biographical piece ::"William T. Vollmann: A Writer Who Dives Head-First"
By Matt Staggs
July 31, 2015
http://www.biographile.com/william-t-...
A brief little interview from Sacramento ::http://www.sacbee.com/entertainment/b...
Q: How’s it going with your current project, one about fossil fuel and nuclear energy, and their relationships to climate change?
A: (My research has taken me to) Kentucky, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Japan, Mexico and Bangladesh, and may go to Saudi Arabia. I don’t want it to be a monster (in length). The climate is changing at such a frightening rate that if I take five years to write it, it will be too late. I’d like to finish it by the end of 2016.
Q: What else is happening?
A: I’m working on a novel relating to the extraordinary torture and rendition in the George W. Bush years. I want to focus on the effects they had on ordinary citizens. (Also) a book about lesbian and transgender sex workers. That one gives me an excuse to go to bars and write it off.
NR: .........that last one makes it sound like maybe he's reopened work on How You Are?
Asked him about that in Portland. He said that How You Are has been totally finished for three years but that it is unlikely to see the light of day anytime soon. He said this novel is a new creature entirely.
ATJG wrote: "He said this novel is a new creature entirely. "Nice! Time to get those publishers to do their jobs!
What appears to be a major new interview with Vollmann ::"Writers are both incredibly arrogant and insecure simultaneously, and those two things are so close, really." --WTV
William T. Vollmann: The Willow Springs Interview
19 Sept 2015 (conducted in Summer of '14)
http://thebarking.com/2015/09/william...
And a charming little video bookclub Q&A.https://vimeo.com/137201460
The related video interview re: The Dying Grass ::
https://vimeo.com/139804718
Just in case it's needed, two radio interviews re: The Dying Grass ::KCRW ::
Part I ::
http://www.kcrw.com/news-culture/show...
Part II ::
http://www.kcrw.com/news-culture/show...
KBOO ::
http://kboo.fm/thedyinggrassbywilliam...
Nathan "N.R." wrote: "And a charming little video bookclub Q&A.https://vimeo.com/137201460
The related video interview re: The Dying Grass ::
https://vimeo.com/139804718"
I loved that interview - primarily because of the fact that the interviewer asked precisely the type of questions those readers new to WTV, and not used to this type of novel, would ask - and WTV answered them with patience and clarity. Hopefully it will give more people the courage to give him a go.
Jonfaith wrote: "This airs on our PBS station tonight http://www.wellread.org/the-tv-show/w..."Nicely done! That will mark Bill's second Television appearance!
Just watched the Well Read interview, very charming - thanks for the link
A not-so-long article on Vollmann in Spanish ::"El autor que sólo escribe sobre lo que experimenta: William T. Vollmann"
by Andrés Hax
William Faulkner was a peculiar but excellent criterion to evaluate their fellow writers. He said that the greatness of a novelist was to the size of its failure. The best was the one that had more tried, which aspired to an impossible perfection, one whose ambition was so excessive that the execution of the project would inevitably end in a failed work. This criterion put to Thomas Wolfe (the Look Homeward, Angel, not the Bonfire of the Vanities) on top.
If we took the same approach to a ranking of the best American novelists today, there is no doubt who would correspond to the top. No Jonathan Franzen and Jeffrey Eugenides. Neither Donna Tart or James Ellroy. Not even we could give honorable octogenarians Philip Roth or Cormac McCarthy. According to the "Faulkner-Test" the best living American writer William T. Vollmann is. With 56 years (the same age as Franzen, who has just published his fifth novel) and his work has literally the size of an encyclopedia. It consists of more than 30 volumes which include reports, stories, novels, travel diaries and photo books. Among its themes are war, poverty, drug addiction, immigration, prostitution, violence-how and when justified and the history of the colonization of North America."
http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1840947-bi...
Nathan "N.R." wrote: "A not-so-long article on Vollmann in Spanish ::"El autor que sólo escribe sobre lo que experimenta: William T. Vollmann"
by Andrés Hax
William Faulkner was a peculiar but excellent criterion to e..."
Did you translate it into English? Wow!
Mala wrote: "Did you translate it into English? Wow! "I googlated it into English!!
Nathan "N.R." wrote: "Mala wrote: "Did you translate it into English? Wow! "I googlated it into English!!"
Okay, I take back my 'wow'. I thought your farm workers had taught you enough Spanish!
Not sure if this has been posted elsewhere yet: Audio from the panel discussion The Spectacle of Violence: Why We Need to Watch in Las Vegas:
http://blackmountaininstitute.org/new...
In interview from 2010 regarding Imperial ::"A Modest Imperialist: William T. Vollmann"
by Steven Ross
http://www.brooklynrail.org/2010/03/e...
T.R. wrote: "New interview in LARB:https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/w..."
Great interview. I hope he completes the graphic novel; it would be fun to see his drawings and words together.
T.R. wrote: "New interview in LARB:https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/w..."
Thanks for the link T.R. Much appreeshed.
This one in the category of 'uncollected Vollmann'.Totally accidentally ran across this via a pun on "Kim Deal" ::
https://books.google.com/books?id=mPK...
SPIN, July '95, page 14. It's about guns and the militia and terrorism and politics.
A new piece by Vollmann over at the Smithsonian, this time on WWI and its ending."Is All Still Quiet on the Western Front? :: A hundred years after the 'war to end all wars' ended, a journey to the front lines of World War I reveals the poignant battles and their tragic legacies"
By William T. Vollmann;
Photographs by Tomas van Houtryve
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/histor...
[tl;haven't read it yet]
Vollman's introduction to Ivo Andrić’s Omer Pasha Latas: Marshal to the Sultanhttps://lareviewofbooks.org/article/t...#!
William T Vollmann Central
Books mentioned in this topic
Imperial (other topics)Imperial (other topics)
William T. Vollmann: A Critical Study and Seven Interviews (other topics)
All the Light We Cannot See (other topics)
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents 1610 to 1791 (other topics)
More...
http://www.allthingscrimeblog.com/201...
It's mostly about Dolores and Vollmann's problems with the FBI.
Cheers!