The Mookse and the Gripes discussion

I have found throughout the Goldsmiths and Booker process that interviews with the aiuthor - whether live on stage, in a podcast, or in the press - have really added to my appreciation of what the novelist was trying to achieve.

To give a clunky analogy, I enjoy a meal. bottle of wine or fine chocolates more when I know the taste notes and flavours that I should be trying to detect, and it is for me the same with fiction.

I posted an interview with Paul Beatty and Eleanor Wachtel in the Booker forum. Wachtel's Writers & Company to me is the star of podcast/radio interviewers both in her taste in interviewees and the quality of the conversations she has.
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/writersandcom...

Michael Silverblatt's Bookworm scores well on the first category although, at times, his questions are much longer than the author's replies.
http://www.kcrw.com/news-culture/show...

And when it comes to the literary press, the Paris Review Art of Fiction series provides a wonderful history all the way back to No. 1 EM Forster.
http://www.theparisreview.org/

So the purpose of the post:

Do others find interviews add to their appreciation?

Best read before or after?

And most importantly, recommendations for reliable sources?

there are not that many opportunities to do this in my neck of the woods - too many of the author events are sports related which is not of interest and we don't really get the big names from the literature world. But Hay Festival is a godsend....and every time I listen to one of the talks i feel I have understood the writer's perspective far more which then helps my appreciation of their work. So to get out there to as many as I can would be my ideal ...

Thanks - was trying more to get at things you could do in your neck of the woods - podcasts and written interviews in journals.

They tend to be better anyway than the in-person events for many authors as it is more in their comfort zone.

Paul, I would welcome recommendations of author interviews in podcasts, websites, and written interviews in journals, especially recommendations to authors relevant to the many discussions in Mookse and Gripes.

A podcast I love is Literary Disco, hosted by Rider Strong, Julia Pistell, and Tod Goldberg. They choose a book to read and discuss each episode and sometimes have authors on to discuss other peoples' books. Some author appearances that may interest the Mooske and Gripes crowd:

Episode 77 (link): Jill Alexander Essbaum, author of Hausfrau, discussing Interrobang

Episode 65 (link): Stephen Graham Jones discussing The Girl Next Door

Episode 36 (link): Jim Gavin discussing The Woman Chaser, with a bonus interview of Rider talking with a Joyce scholar about Finnegans Wake

Paul wrote: "Thanks - was trying more to get at things you could do in your neck of the woods - podcasts and written interviews in journals.

They tend to be better anyway than the in-person events for many aut..."
I do listen to multiple podcasts but still prefer in person event since you get interactions from the floor (though not always productive to be fair) which makes it more dynamic. Do you have a favourite podcast?

The White Review does pretty excellent interviews. Here they are talking to Eimear McBride about A Girl is a Half- Formed Thing

http://www.thewhitereview.org/intervi...

Desert island discs!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qnmr

There are also politicians, musicians etc - but you can narrow down your search to authors.

Louise wrote: "Desert island discs!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qnmr

There are also politicians, musicians etc - but you can narrow down your search to authors."

James wrote: "The White Review does pretty excellent interviews. Here they are talking to Eimear McBride about A Girl is a Half- Formed Thing

http://www.thewhitereview.org/intervi......"

Thanks both.

Great interview with McBride.

Must admit I've never listened to Desert Island Discs - are the ones with authors useful for insights into their work (as opposed to their lives)?

Paul wrote: "Must admit I've never listened to Desert Island Discs - are the ones with authors useful for insights into their work (as opposed to their lives)?"
Insights into both lives and works. I've listened to their interviews with both Ali Smith and Zadie Smith. I particularly enjoy the brief (and sometimes unlikely) musical selections chosen by the authors and included in the interviews.

Pamuk essay addressing the subject of literary analysis, or as I quote, “The philistinism of interpretation is more rife in literature than in any other art.”

Pamuk: "And yet I also marvel at a student reminding me of the oddities of a novel I’d written years ago, and wonder if I’d even meant any of it."

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/...