Ask the Author: John R. Carpenter
Answered Questions (6)
John R. Carpenter
I do not feel the need to be "inspired" in a high-faluting sense to write. Not ethereal, in a high register or on a pedestal. I feel a compulsion to treat reality head-on, with the right word, it could be the reality right under my nose (Orwell:"In front of your Nose"). On the other hand this could be very hard to find, it night be disguised under many layers. When I'm outdoors,or with others, I usually carry several pencils in my breast pocket, often taking them out to jot down ideas. I even read books with a pencil in hand, a confession here, and carve them up rather badly. Many of my ideas are quite bad, some are good, and it might be that one is even very good, a "mot juste" awaiting there, at the edge of consciousness. The sense that I might connect with it, and begin to write it down, is exciting, is truly exciting.
John R. Carpenter
In my book "Wall, Watchtower, and Pencil Stub" I dealt with some of the big questions of history and literature, and the relations between the two. But did I say anywhere nearly enough? Did I only touch on the issues? Was my central theme, that the literature of the period 1939-45 dealt above all with the pervasive secrecy and disguise of the time, was this accomplished? Did I convince others of it too? It is impossible to overstate the importance of the theme of "Disbelief" I described in Chapter I, all the other chapters-- and the war itself-- flow from it. This for me was an epiphany. Did I carry my readers with me? Since finishing the book I have become quite hard on myself... I have embarked on a series of "posts" and blogs wrestling with a few of the unanswered questions, also the relation of World War II to the present (to 2015!). This relationship is only too close. Dangerously close.
John R. Carpenter
Bing able to communicate with others, often difficult to do effectively and demanding, when it succeeds is one of the greatest pleasures of all.
John R. Carpenter
You have to be strongly motivated, if you aren't it is a formula for disappointment. A huge number of people enjoy reading books, of one kind or another; but this doesn't mean they will enjoy writing, which is a very different kind of activity. On translation: I have greatly enjoyed translation, and foreign languages have given me access to many of my favorite writers. But be VERY careful if you want to publish your translations: the legalities are usually against you, the "English language rights" will almost always go to the publisher, not the translator.
John R. Carpenter
Wait it out by doing something else. Anything else. Maybe best is something outdoors and away from the computer; a real change of pace.
John R. Carpenter
Very good question that ought to get at least two answers depending on the time frame. First, during the war itself, the answer Steinbeck found described in my chapter "The Riddle.' Steinbeck interviewed several soldiers about an action in Italy, and they remembered everything right up to the moment it became dangerous to survival-- then clear memory came to a stop, their "perceptions seemed to become covered in cotton wool." Steinbeck thought this was probably an involuntary defense mechanism, a subconscious type of denial. Later, memory would not necessarily become better; often after 1945 it became worse, with all kinds of reasons and motivations for distortion, "victor's syndrome" prominent among them. I sometimes think of it as "creeping anachronism"; creeping in different ways one day, ten months, ten years-- twenty, fifty-- after the events.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more