Translated literature can be fascinating. There's something so intriguing about reading the text second hand - a piece of prose that has already been….

I'm often a little perplexed, when I read a review of a book, by the quotes that are pulled out as evidence of excellent prose. I don't think great n….

I write some art criticism, and one thing that's clear to me is that politics is fashionable in the American art world in a way it maybe isn't in Ame….

I don't know why I write. The honest answer is that I don't have an answer. I wouldn't die if I couldn't write fiction. Actually keel over and die - ….

I can't define myself as a political writer - I don't think I've earned it, and I don't function as a political writer in the way that many of the wr….

Many novelists say, "I'm not a political novelist" - myself included. That's a standard, even a default position. Whereas that divide between art and….

There's a perception that good writing is writing which runs smoothly. But smooth-running prose can work against what you're trying to express in a n….

Evidently, there are many great American writers. But sometimes it can feel as though American fiction is dominated by relatively linear narrative fo….

I don't speak any languages well enough to make an expert assessment on writing in translation, but since I'm interested in awkwardness in prose, I f….

Fiction always reveals a lot about the person who is writing it. That's the scary thing. Not in a straightforward autobiographical sense. But the fla….

I'm interested in dismantling the distinction between masculine and feminine writing both because I think it's a false distinction and, I think, ulti….

The desire to be liked is acceptable in real life but very problematic in fiction. Pleasantness is the enemy of good fiction. I try to write on the p….

The point about sales is relevant because it suggests there are cultures out there that are supporting and consuming, on a vast scale, challenging wo….

It's a hard thing to examine and difficult to speak for other writers, but when I look at my own writing there is often too much reticence. And that'….

When I receive a box of my books, my impulse is to hide rather than display them. It always makes me very anxious that they send so many copies, beca….

I believe writers should be able to write about anything - anything - but there is also a sense in which your lived experience shapes what you write ….