Ann Beattie
Ann Beattie
Ann Beattieis an American novelist and short story writer. She has received an award for excellence from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters and the PEN/Malamud Award for excellence in the short story form. Her work has been compared to that of Alice Adams, J.D. Salinger, John Cheever, and John Updike. She holds an undergraduate degree from American University and a master's degree from the University of Connecticut...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth8 September 1947
CountryUnited States of America
While I would agree that I write about serious subjects, and that they're not necessarily the most pleasant subjects or even the most pleasant people, as a writer I just think about the humorous aspects of these things - that's what keeps me going when I'm writing a story.
I think almost always that what gets me going with a story is the atmosphere, the visual imagery, and then I people it with characters, not the other way around.
I think that I'm serious, but I don't think that I'm inordinately bleak.
If you could have a book called My Favorite Six Stories, I don't think I'd have trouble doing that.
Much of what happens in Love Always is really from overheard conversations in the Russian Tea Room. It's an improvisation of the way certain Hollywood agents think and talk to each other.
It's interesting, though, that in daily life, I think of myself as being relatively unobservant.
I think I write about things that are mysterious to me.
It was very much a surprise. It's very nice when someone takes notice.
Well, I've found myself a lot of times with student manuscripts, saying to them that it worries me that their work seems hermetically sealed.
That's what I mean; if your writing doesn't transcend the era, then it would really seem to be only of very limited sociological importance.
have been forced to close and have no idea when they may reopen.
Her prose has become known for its vivid particularity, the details of the way we live.
What does it matter what my personality is? It's fair enough to talk about the stories, but they're not an autobiographical display.
Well, a few years ago I think I could have given you a more enthusiastic answer about that but in the last few years, for the first time in my life, I really haven't listened to much music. I used to work with music on and now I don't.