Conversations with Joan Didion

by Scott F. Parker (Editor), Joan Didion

Joan Didion (b. 1934) is an American icon. Her essays, particularly those in Slouching Towards Bethlehem and The White Album , have resonated in American culture to a degree unmatched over the past half century. Two generations of writers have taken her as the measure of what it means to write personal essays. No one writes about California, the sixties, media narratives, cultural mythology, or migraines without taking Didion into account. She has also written five novels; several screenplays with her husband, John Gregory Dunne; and three late-in-life memoirs, including The Year of Magical Thinking and Blue Nights , which have brought her a new wave of renown.

Conversations with Joan Didion features seventeen interviews with the author, spanning decades, continents, and genres. Didion reflects on her childhood in Sacramento; her time at Berkeley (both as a student and later as a visiting professor), in New York, and in Hollywood; her marriage to Dunne; and of course her writing. Didion describes her methods of writing, the ways in which the various genres she has worked in inform one another, and the concerns that have motivated her to write.

186 pages, Hardcover

Published February 6, 2018

Reviews

[Maggie Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

"... you get the sense that it's possible simply to go through life noticing things and writing them down and that this is ok, it's worth doing. That the seemingly insignificant things that most of us spend our days noticing are really significant, have meaning, and tell us something."

"I don't want to do anything that I don't do well. I don't want to ski."

-There's a certain aesthetic to the way you live. You once talked about using good silver every day.
-Well, every day is all there is.

-Do you admire elegance?
-Yes, because it makes you feel better. It's a form. I'm very attached to certain forms, little compulsive rituals. I like to cook; I like to sew. They're peaceful things, and they're an expression of caring.

"it is impossible to describe anybody -- a friend, or somebody you know very well -- and please them. Because your image of them, no matter how flattering, never corresponds with their self image."

[Mank Emangles Morposide]

Surreal to come across my own words in this collection. I was eleven years old when I had the chance to see Didion speak at the Los Angeles Central Library. The transcribed interview is included in these pages, but I didn't realize what I was reading until I reached the last line:

AUDIENCE MEMBER: I was just wondering what type of advice you have for younger writers just starting out.
DIDION: It would take me a week and a half to even begin to answer what I would teach younger writers. You know what I would tell them, I would tell them, "Rewrite. Don't be afraid to rewrite."

That audience member was me :) wow.
grateful to my mother for bringing me along that day. Getting to ask Joan a question when I was a little girl is one of the greatest gifts I've ever been given and it makes me emotional to think about.

[Hank Stuever · Rating 4 out of 5]

She's the first to say she's not very good at having a conversation, but still ... This book is filled with some more recent gems about her thought processes, or just her thoughts in general. In a 2006 interview with Hilton Als (included here), I found this nugget, which I heartily endorse:

“I was never a big fan of people who don’t leave home. I don’t know why. It just seems part of your duty in life.”

[Kristin Knisley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This compilation of interviews flows beautifully. I appreciated the intimate peek into Didion’s mind while she was writing or had recently completed pieces that I read and loved many years after their publication. I was especially moved by the David Ulin interview.

This is a wonderful read for anyone who has read and loved Joan Didion, as so many do.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joan Didion has described herself as inarticulate (she says in an interview: “A sentence doesn’t occur to me as a whole thing unless I’m working”), but these conversations reflect how clear, discerning, and to-the-point she is. Everything she says is entirely unobscured by any desire to be outwardly agreeable or interesting or clever — she always just says exactly what she means.

I had originally started this collection before reading Play It As It Lays, but quickly realized I’d appreciate it much more if I had some familiarity with her fiction. I’d suggest reading a mix of her writing (at least Slouching Towards Bethlehem, either A Year of Magical Thinking or Blue Nights, and either Play It As It Lays or A Book of Common Prayer) prior to reading.

“I start a book and I want to make it perfect, want it to turn every color, want it to be the world. Ten pages in, I’ve already blown it, limited it, made it less, marred it. That’s very discouraging. I hate the book at that point. After a while I arrive at an accommodation: Well, it’s not the ideal, it’s not the perfect object I wanted to make, but maybe — if I go ahead and finish it anyway — I can get it right next time. Maybe I can have another chance.”

[Arja Salafranca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Conversations with Joan Didion edited by Scott F Parker

It helps to be somewhat of a literary connoisseur of Joan Didion’s novels and non-fiction to read this collection of interview with the iconic writer – but even if you have gaps in your knowledge, you will certainly take something of Didion’s wisdom from the reading. You’ll learn what has inspired some of her novels – from travel to a newspaper cutting – as well as gain a glimpse into the famous essays collected in many volumes. And you’ll gain an understanding of the role her husband, John Gregory Dunne played in both her writing life and quotidian life, as well as the influence of her (adopted) daughter, Quintana. A welcome addition to the body of work by and about Didion.

[J.D. DeHart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joan Didiin is far more than the often anthologized works that literature students blip by on their way to completing a course. I have enjoyed Didion’s wider range of works for some time now and this book helps us delve into her life and personality more completely. The book is enjoyable on its own and I can see pairing a reading of this text with one of those anthologized entries for a more informed perspective on this author and her considerable contribution to letters.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I so appreciated this compilation of interviews throughout the storied career of Joan Didion. So many subjects are touched upon, it's not limited to her writing alone. Readers get a close look at her life, love, childhood, education, marriage, and her motivations. Her writing is explored in her own words, which resonate so in her personal essays. This book would make an excellent companion to the works of Ms. Didion.

[Esther Lombardi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joan Didion is such a wonderful and unforgettable contributor to literature. It's always a please to read anything related to her and her work!