Ask the Author: Keith Taylor
Answered Questions (8)
Keith Taylor
Wouldn't let me go there, Lyn. Said no book on this page. E-mail is still keitay@umich.edu
Keith Taylor
Robert - Just the other day I realized that I published my first book review over 40 years ago. That kind of amazed me. Books have always been the center of my life, and stopping to think about them forces me to become more articulate about my responses to them. And, of course, I also try to write books, and knowing what has moved me in someone else's work can help with my own. I also continue to believe that books are important, so if I can interest a person or two in the discussion, then it is worth it. Also, I'm getting older now, and forcing myself to read new books by younger people keeps me fresh, forces me to keep thinking in new ways.
You will have noticed that I seldom give bad reviews. Maybe sometimes they are mixed, but very seldom pans. If I don't like a book, I won't finish it, let alone review it. The only time I'll do that is when someone well known writes a book that I think is bad (often sloppy) and that I have been asked and paid to review. Then I'll say something negative.
But I'm not quite sure what this might mean for someone who reads the review. Probably I'm hoping that if you read my review you will realize that someone took this author's process seriously and that maybe reading that book might help you do it too. That seems worth it!
Thanks for asking. Here's a link to a short essay I wrote about reviewing a few years back for "Fiction Writers Review"
https://fictionwritersreview.com/essa...
You will have noticed that I seldom give bad reviews. Maybe sometimes they are mixed, but very seldom pans. If I don't like a book, I won't finish it, let alone review it. The only time I'll do that is when someone well known writes a book that I think is bad (often sloppy) and that I have been asked and paid to review. Then I'll say something negative.
But I'm not quite sure what this might mean for someone who reads the review. Probably I'm hoping that if you read my review you will realize that someone took this author's process seriously and that maybe reading that book might help you do it too. That seems worth it!
Thanks for asking. Here's a link to a short essay I wrote about reviewing a few years back for "Fiction Writers Review"
https://fictionwritersreview.com/essa...
Keith Taylor
Most recently -- a little chapbook of poems came out of my walks through my neighborhood.
Keith Taylor
Things in the world seem to move me to write. I'm not sure why.
Keith Taylor
More poems. A larger book that is family history/memoir, I think. Not quite sure about what it will be yet.
Keith Taylor
Nothing original here: read, read, write. Don't do it unless you're compelled to do it. There are other, better choices for something as mundane as a "career."
Keith Taylor
Hmmm ... It is not all roses ... but when things are working well, I get to figure things out and get them out in the world and sometimes other people read them. Sometimes they even agree.
Keith Taylor
I know it's not true for everyone, but every time I have experienced "writer's block" it has clearly been the result of my own lethargy.
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Jan 09, 2021 01:26AM · flag