On November 8, The Cabin welcomes our next Readings & Conversations guest: Nicole Krauss, author of The History of Love and Great House. There’s still time to buy tickets: call The Cabin at 331.8000.
The following snippets are adapted from interviews posted on her website, nicolekrauss.com.
The following snippets are adapted from interviews posted on her website, nicolekrauss.com.
Channeling Mister Geppetto
Nicole Krauss writes from a place of uncertainty. “Getting lost in the woods” she calls it, deeper and deeper with each novel she undertakes—sometimes 200 pages lost—so that she is just as doubtful and uncertain as the characters she discovers there. With so much free space to explore their identities, her characters capture what she calls “…the ‘Pinocchio Element’: the chance to become truly alive and real.” (image source)
Nicole Krauss writes from a place of uncertainty. “Getting lost in the woods” she calls it, deeper and deeper with each novel she undertakes—sometimes 200 pages lost—so that she is just as doubtful and uncertain as the characters she discovers there. With so much free space to explore their identities, her characters capture what she calls “…the ‘Pinocchio Element’: the chance to become truly alive and real.” (image source)
Writing Hole
The desk in Great House is very much like the writing desk in Nicole Krauss’ attic. It’s an overbearing, masculine piece she inherited with the house and it was built specifically for the room, so to maneuver it down her narrow stairs (as she often considers doing) it would first have to be chopped to bits. To top it off, the desk was originally built around a painted panel, which was removed and taken with the previous owner. So she writes, each and every day, with a gaping hole above her head. (image source)
The desk in Great House is very much like the writing desk in Nicole Krauss’ attic. It’s an overbearing, masculine piece she inherited with the house and it was built specifically for the room, so to maneuver it down her narrow stairs (as she often considers doing) it would first have to be chopped to bits. To top it off, the desk was originally built around a painted panel, which was removed and taken with the previous owner. So she writes, each and every day, with a gaping hole above her head. (image source)
Abandon all hope, ye who author here
Writing’s tough, in case that’s news to anybody. Envisioning a time when the difficult periods shrink and the rewards come frequently is an exercise in optimism, not often a reality. Krauss keeps a framed quote at her writing desk (maybe to distract from the hole) which reads: “It’s not going to get any better. Resign yourself to this.” It’s a sad, strangely comforting little promise. She knows what she’s getting. (image source)
Writing’s tough, in case that’s news to anybody. Envisioning a time when the difficult periods shrink and the rewards come frequently is an exercise in optimism, not often a reality. Krauss keeps a framed quote at her writing desk (maybe to distract from the hole) which reads: “It’s not going to get any better. Resign yourself to this.” It’s a sad, strangely comforting little promise. She knows what she’s getting. (image source)
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