The First Word Was Love; The Last, Spring

“We all as writers want to arrive at universal truth, of course,” Geoff Dyer said in conversation with Christopher Lydon. “The chances of arriving at that universal truth will be greatly increased if you remain absolutely faithful to the vagaries of your own nature, the peculiarities and contingencies of one’s own experience.”

“Romance for her was a touch on the shoulder or a nice conversation on the porch,” Brad Gooch said of Flannery O’Connor in his conversation with Ann Napolitano.

Kate Moses and Paul Alexander discussed Sylvia Plath, noting that next month marks the fiftieth anniversary of her death. In Plath’s arrangement of her final collection of poems, which Ted Hughes altered for publication, the first word was love, and the last, spring. “When I realized that the story of Ariel had not been told, I felt it would be irresponsible not to tell it,” Moses said.

Alexandra Styron and Joyce Johnson on <em>Writing About Those We Have Loved</em>. Johnson on writing about Jack jack Kerouac: "There's no greater mystery than the people we are closest to. Writers are impelled to address mysteries." "Most people are lucky to have a shoebox of letters after their parents die. I had 25,000 documents at Duke University," Styron said of the archives she accessed in writing her memoir <em>Reading My Father</em>.

Alexandra Styron and Joyce Johnson on Writing About Those We Have Loved. Johnson on Jack Kerouac: “There’s no greater mystery than the people we are closest to. Writers are impelled to address mysteries.” Styron on the archives she accessed in writing her memoir Reading My Father: “Most people are lucky to have a shoebox of letters after their parents die. I had 25,000 documents at Duke University.”

KWLS staff member Margit Bisztray hard at work behind the scenes.

Staff member Margit Bisztray hard at work behind the scenes of KWLS.

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