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
choice dirt element lived might people quite religious until
I know people who have, until recently, lived with dirt floors. There are people who live way back off the grid, without electricity. Not a whole lot, but quite a few. That's a choice for a lot of them. There might be a religious element in their isolation, at least with some of them.
learned life object polite poor
I learned my values. It's better to be poor than to be beholden. Wealth is not the object of life. You should be polite as long as possible, and when you can't be polite anymore, don't run.
If I weren't so lazy, I would have 14 books, not eight.
attention best books brings course developing gotten mass surviving terms
I'm surviving and developing as a writer. I don't know what brings you to mass attention in terms of sales. But I've gotten more and more comfortable with it. Of course if that changes, I'll be comfortable with that. All I can do is write the best books I can.
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.
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.
four
I've been at writing long enough now to know that every three or four books, I have to start a new direction.
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.
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.
hard
You realize you're alive while you're alive, and you better notice it then, because later, it's hard to see.
across poison pump room
I'd just lie around all day. It's the chemo, the poison they pump into you. Sometimes I'd be walking across the room and think, 'There it is; I got to rest.' And I had to, right then.
people strictly
One of the interesting things about the Ozarks is you just about don't have street crime. It's strictly between people who know each other. It really isn't indiscriminate; it's kind of between themselves.