Writers talking shop

 I like to read interviews with writers. I have a volume of interviews featuring famous writers published by The Paris Review. I have volumes featuring less famous writers from Texas and New Mexico. I have a collection of interviews given by a single writer, Margaret Atwood, through the years.

I might have a better grasp of the writing processes of William Stafford and Norman MacCaig than I do of my own. I like to listen to writers talk shop. That’s the way some of us learn.

But here’s Lilian Hellman:

 

They’re fancy talkers about themselves, writers. If I had to give young writers advice, I would say don’t listen to writers talk about themselves.

 

A point granted to the devil’s advocate: It’s wise to be cautious.

But if I were going to give young writers advice, I would say listen to two poets, Stafford and MacCaig.

• Source: The Writer’s Quotation Book, edited by James Charlton; Wainscott, N.Y.: Pushcart Press, 1991, p. 95.