Writer Anthony Doerr on the Power of Books, Writing and Literature | Louisiana Channel
“It just started with this idea: I wanna make other worlds.”
Meet American writer and Pulitzer Prize winner Anthony Doerr in this personal interview.
“I think the best stories are the ones that get retold enough so that the next generation can see something new in each. It’s about stewardship. What does it mean to care for stories? I am in love with the idea that stories can provide some continuity through time. If we forget our histories, we repeat them. It’s so important to remember.”
“Literature is an empathy machine. This sense that you are not alone in your experience. For me, so much of that came from reading.”
Anthony Doerr (b. 1973) is an American author of novels and short stories. Raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Doerr attended the nearby University School, graduating in 1991. He then majored in history at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, graduating in 1995. He also earned a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) from Bowling Green State University. In 2014 he gained widespread recognition for his novel All the Light We Cannot See, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Doerr's first book was a collection of short stories called The Shell Collector (2002). Many of the stories take place in countries within Africa and New Zealand, where he has worked and lived. His first novel, About Grace, was released in 2004. His memoir, Four Seasons in Rome, was published in 2007, and his second collection of short stories, Memory Wall, was published in 2010.
Doerr's second novel, All the Light We Cannot See, is set in occupied France during World War II and was published in 2014. It received significant critical acclaim and was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction. The book was a New York Times bestseller and was named by the newspaper as a notable book of 2014. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2015. It was runner-up for the 2015 Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Fiction and won the 2015 Ohioana Library Association Book Award for Fiction.
Doerr's third novel, Cloud Cuckoo Land, follows three storylines scattered throughout time: Thirteen-year-old Anna and Omeir, an orphaned seamstress and a cursed boy, on opposite sides of formidable city walls during the 1453 siege of Constantinople; teenage idealist Seymour and octogenarian Zeno in an attack on a public library in present-day Idaho; and Konstance, decades from now, who turns to the oldest stories to guide her community in peril. The novel was released in September 2021 and was shortlisted for the 2021 National Book Award for Fiction.
Doerr writes a column on science books for The Boston Globe and is a regular contributor to The Morning News, an online magazine. He lives in Boise, Idaho, with his wife and two sons.
Anthony Doerr was interviewed by Marc-Christoph Wagner at his Danish publisher, Politikens Forlag, in Copenhagen. The interview was recorded in June 2022.
Camera: Rasmus Quistgaard
Edited by: Signe Boe Pedersen
Produced by: Marc-Christoph Wagner
Copyright: Louisiana Channel, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2022
Louisiana Channel is supported by Den A.P. Møllerske Støttefond, Ny Carlsbergfondet, C.L. Davids Fond og Samling and Fritz Hansen.
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Пікірлер: 32
Just brilliant. I finished reading 'Cloud Cuckoo Land' a few days ago and hearing the author talk about not just the themes, but the interconnectivity of so many things in our lives that stretch back through the centuries. Thank you for broadcasting this talk. As Anthony Doerr has said elsewhere, "You read alone, but it makes you feel less alone."
I get chills hearing this amazing human talk. It’s just fascinating hearing someone talking about something he is passionate about. I find to love your perspective. It’s like jazz to my ears. He is jazzing
Who is this wonderful soul?????
Here is a magician of words ! He must be read and enjoyed.
Beautiful interview, beautiful writer, beautiful human.
I've read all of Anthony Doerr's books. This interview certainly has given me a deeper insight. I look forward to your next creation!
Mr Doerr, “All the Light We Cannot See” is excellent 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
This was both inspiring and comforting to listen to.
Childish enthusiasm meshed with adult intellect....great candid descriptions!
Wonderful family!! This is a truly wonderful mom! As a writer this is inspiring.
And so true I Think that we somehow are our memories ….. we become like a sculpture … but we can also open our imagination to new experiences ….. and become a dancer of Life 🎵💜🎶🦄
One of the best writers alive.
Whau thats an opening into Art …. As the wonderfull dazzling feeling of truly being alive 💚🦎
So enjoyable to listen to and also full of great insight for writing. I found myself unexpectedly taking notes. His books have moved up my to-read list!
Interesting and relatable. Things I think about but couldn't put into words. Thank you
Amazing interview.
This was pure joy to watch ! Honestly
All the Light I Cannot See was truly a magnificent work! Thanks to that novel I took a trip to St. Malo and sought out one of the few streets and original buildings that remain! 👍👍
So so beautiful a mind
Wow.
Memory Wall is now on my list!
What a wonderful interview! Started my day in a wonderful and calm way ❤
Very inspiring
“Göremediğimiz tüm ışıklar” okuyorum, cok güzel. Filmini de izledim. Ama kitabı harika. Hiç bitmesin istiyorum. Umarım diğer kitapları da Türkçeye çevrilir.
After reading Cloud Cuckoo ans All The Light, I have become a library snob.
I Will bring that with me and qoate: Art has to wake us up to the wonder of being alive 🎶💚🎵🪲
Wow! What a privileged upbringing for a very smart guy. My brothers were very smart but parents were always hostile to any interests. We got constant put downs. The moms would set up scenarios that then required punishments. Moms knew we had upper, upper privileged surroundings so she made sure we suffered enough to appreciate our upper, supper white class background. I guess she could see us brothers as Mexican Americans who did not suffer social slights mom’s family under went. Mom always said “you guys need to suffer more”. So we did. But it was contrived. The moms thought she was building character. It’s true. Us brothers are all very generous. Rather upper types but we all deeply hated contrived set ups for the purpose of humiliating us.
Wonderful interview! I really appreciate how Anthony describes the interconnected-ness of everything! I've looked at the world around me through this perspective, for SO many years... but it's hard for me to put it into words. WELL DONE, Mr. Doerr! 👏🏼 This interview made me think of the movie "Mindwalk". I need to re-watch that soon!!! ;-)
The imagination IS a MUSCLE - just like when your Pretty Enormous Nose Is Scratched when ticked.
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I love the narrative of childhood as being outside and investigating everything in Nature - its a bodily involved process where you communicate using all your sensibilities - opening Doors into making narratives about everything I experienced 🎶🖤🎵🦉🪲🕷🦎