Tracy Kidder was a featured speaker at PLNU's Writer's Symposium this year. SDLS attended the discussion, which was facilitated by Dr. Dean Nelson, on Thursday, February 23, 2017. Kidder, who won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction for his book, "The Soul Of A New Machine", discussed his career, writing, and his books, including his newest, "A Truck Full Of Money". Kidder has also been a contributor to the Atlantic, the New Yorker, the New York Times, and Granta.
Dr. Nelson asked Mr. Kidder about the way Kidder immerses himself into the lives of his protagonists. Dr. Nelson stated that the people Kidder writes about have given him unparalleled access to their lives. A discussion ensued about how Kidder got people to agree to allow him to shine a spotlight on their lives. Kidder responded by saying, "I try to be a good guest in people's lives". Kidder does admit, however, that there have been people he has approached about writing a book on them, and he has been turned down: "I've asked people to let me write about them, and they have refused, for example, Yo Yo Ma. I approached him and he very politely declined, stating, 'Can't we just be friends?'
Nelson also asked Kidder about how he preps for his books. For example, when getting ready to write "The Soul Of A New Machine", Nelson asked if Kidder had to prepare by learning as much about computers as he could. Kidder responded by saying that he really does little in-depth study on specific topics: "My technique is to meet someone I'm interested in, and then I get excited about what they're excited about."
Nelson asked about larger themes that can be extrapolated from Kidder's books, and he asked Kidder if he is telling these stories because of their parallel to larger issues, and/or if Kidder is conscious of these larger themes when he is writing his books. Kidder responded, "I don't usually have an abstract notion about things when I write a book. I'm just trying to tell a story. It will sometimes turn out that there are larger stories in my books, but I am not intentionally conscious of telling that story. My preferred way to start is with the story, itself - the particulars of time, person, and place - and let the story emerge."
There was further discussion on the unreliability of memory, and how Kidder mitigates this when trying to tell as truthful a story as possible in his books, including his own memoir about his experiences in Vietnam. Kidder acknowledged problems with memory, but stated that, after verifying as much as he can against the historical record, he also has decided to also just be true to his memories, as they also represent a protagonist's experience.
At one point, Dr. Nelson brought up Kidder's first book, "The Road to Yuba City", which caused Kidder to visibly cringe. He seemed embarrassed to have it brought up, and was reluctant to talk about it. Kidder stated that the story started it's life as an article for the New Yorker, but evolved into a full length book. "I thought I was Truman Capote", Kidder joked. He then went on to say that "there are so many things wrong with that book". Kidder stated that he wished people would forget about the book, and that he tried hard to prevent it from being re-published after he won the Pulitzer for "The Soul Of A New Machine". Kidder stated that he actually paid Doubleday for the rights to the book so that it could not be re-published. Interestingly, despite his wish to wipe the book from his catalog, Kidder does have it listed on his website with his CV.
The conversation concluded with Nelson asking Kidder what advice he would give to aspiring writers. Kidder responded, "I don't know. The world of publishing has changed enormously, and will change even more. I wouldn't know where to send them. In the past, you could say 'Go to a newspaper, write for a newspaper', but those jobs barely exist today. But, I would say, you have to write in order to learn how to write. And, you have to read in order to learn how others have done it. You have to read, and read widely."
The PLNU Writer's Symposium was video recorded by UCSD TV. To see the entire conversation, check the UCSD TV schedule for the air date of this event.
http://www.tracykidder.com/
http://www.pointloma.edu/experience/academics/schools-departments/department-literature-journalism-modern-languages/events/writers-symposiumLabels: Author Appearances
