Ask the Author: Naomi Benaron
Answered Questions (11)
Naomi Benaron
This is a hard question, since my book choices tend to the dark. Maybe I would go to the place where Antoine de Saint-Exupéry crash landed and found the little prince. Then of course, I'd hang out with the little prince. Maybe I could warn him to stay away from that snake.
Naomi Benaron
This summer I've read Beirut Hellfire by Rawi Hage, Small Country by Gael Faye, Ninety-nine Stories of God by joy Williams, 200 pages (roughly of Orringer's Flight Portfolio (gave up), Red Birds by Mohammed Hanif, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong, Fight No More by Lydia Millet, A Prayer for Travelers by Ruchika Tomar, and The Travelers by Regina Porter. I'm currently reading Lost Children Archive and When the Plums Are Ripe.In poetry: Deaf Republic, Sand Opera, The Captain Asks for a Show of Hands, and The Dance Most of All. I'm currently reading Vessel by Parneshia Jones.
Naomi Benaron
The Wizard of Tweets is in the White House. His finger is on many buttons.
Naomi Benaron
I am working on a novel about Terezin concentration camp and the legacies of art and survivorship through the eyes of three generations of survivors.
Naomi Benaron
When my mother suffered from bipolar disease, she always used to take a shower outside the shower stall, soaking the floor and sometimes causing leaks. With my child logic, I dismissed this is another one of her crazy behaviors. Then, years later, I discovered the reason. And yes - it's in the novel I am working on.
Naomi Benaron
My favorite fictional couple depends on the day I am asked. Today, I am thinking of Marie-Laure and Werner Pfenning from ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE. Although they are not a couple in the traditional sense,(another reason I so love them) their lives are bound in a way that becomes both clear and urgent as the story progresses. They are both propelled forward on the wave of WW II history, they are are passionate, they are driven, and they are motivated by a strong sense of spiritual morality. They will always be with me.
Naomi Benaron
From a survivor of Terezin concentration camp. She played the cat in the children's opera Brundibar.
Naomi Benaron
Sometimes it's as simple as someone interesting I spy on in the grocery checkout line. Sometimes it's a news story or a story a friend tells me. There are many different avenues for inspiration.
Naomi Benaron
Don't worry about what other people think. Write what you love and keep writing.
Naomi Benaron
Meeting new people and having a platform to speak about topics that I am passionate about.
Naomi Benaron
I read writers I find particularly inspiring. I just try to keep writing and keep that ugly, big-mouthed, judgmental bird off my shoulder.
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