“I’m proof that it’s not about talent or intelligence or formal education. My writing career is that it’s about commitment, discipline, and endurance. And that’s what I do here (at Iowa Writers’ Workshop). I maintain the discipline that I committed to twenty years ago and I’m still enduring, maintaining the stamina of a writing life, which is extremely difficult….Writing saved my life as a child and as an adult. And continues to.”—Chris Offutt, in conversation with Anthony Swofford, “An Interview With Chris Offutt,” Tin House, Vol. 5, No. 4 (Summer 2004—The Fiction Issue)
Ten years ago, I took a fiction-writing class with Chris Offutt at the Wesleyan Writers’ Workshop. Those morning sessions mirrored the passion in the above quote, as well as a wild (probably life-saving) sense of humor not so much in evidence in it.
In this interview with Jarhead author Swofford (another former student), Offutt alludes to his background growing up in some of the poorest areas of Kentucky, a part of his life transmuted into short story collections (Kentucky Straight, Out of the Woods), novels (The Good Brother), and memoirs (The Same River Twice). His writing is precise, flinty and, I believe, durable. His work is a joy to read, and his dedication is an inspiration.
Ten years ago, I took a fiction-writing class with Chris Offutt at the Wesleyan Writers’ Workshop. Those morning sessions mirrored the passion in the above quote, as well as a wild (probably life-saving) sense of humor not so much in evidence in it.
In this interview with Jarhead author Swofford (another former student), Offutt alludes to his background growing up in some of the poorest areas of Kentucky, a part of his life transmuted into short story collections (Kentucky Straight, Out of the Woods), novels (The Good Brother), and memoirs (The Same River Twice). His writing is precise, flinty and, I believe, durable. His work is a joy to read, and his dedication is an inspiration.
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