Daniel Woodrell
Daniel Woodrell
Daniel Woodrellis an American writer of fiction. He has written eight novels, most of them set in the Missouri Ozarks. Woodrell coined the phrase "country noir" to describe his 1996 novel Give Us a Kiss. Reviewers have frequently since used the term to categorize his writing...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth4 March 1953
CountryUnited States of America
admire money poetry
When poetry is on the money, 12 words can slay you. I admire that greatly.
acts criminal meant outlaw stories tapestry
It's called 'The Outlaw Album,' not 'The Ozarks Album.' These are stories that delve into different kinds of outlawry, from criminal acts to interior, or psychological, outlawry. The book is not meant to be a tapestry of the Ozarks.
earned taken unused
Earned a bachelor's at 27, then an M.F.A. that is still completely unused and in mint condition, never taken out of the box.
finally grim next opened
It was in a grim room on Eddy Street that I finally opened 'A Moveable Feast.' I read it all overnight. I read it again the next day.
four
I've been at writing long enough now to know that every three or four books, I have to start a new direction.
conscious recipe seemed sure time
For a long time, I didn't think I wanted to live in the Ozarks or write about the region. It seemed to be a sure recipe for obscurity, and to be obscure was not my conscious ambition.
keeps time whether
This happens to me all the time: I think I'm working on one thing, but this other thing, whether I want it to or not, keeps coming through.
charles founded near section town
The town of St. Charles near St. Louis was founded by a trapper named Blanchette. There is a section that's called Frenchtown on historical markers.
fascinated life
I've always been fascinated by the Mississippi River and the way of life in these small river towns.
humor
Texas humor and Southern humor are pretty similar.
came connection places realized taste
I came back when I'd had a taste of other places and realized that I would never feel the same sense of connection to any place other than the Ozarks.
aware calls literary potent readily though toronto writers
I am well aware that the writers of New York, London, and Toronto are more readily noticed, though the shadowy and potent Ozarks Literary Cabal does what it can for me, then nightly joins me for dinner and calls me 'honey.'
hard
You realize you're alive while you're alive, and you better notice it then, because later, it's hard to see.
agent collection hear short stories thinking
You want to hear an agent scream, say, 'I'm thinking about doing a collection of short stories set in the Ozarks.'