Poets & Writers Theater

“The biggest misconception that people have about the literary life is the romance of it.” In this 2011 Big Think interview, Walter Mosley talks about the influence of comic books and early reading on his writing, and his opinion of great literature.

“At some level, I’m never quite sure how the poem is going to resolve itself and that I'm always in some way surprised—I make a discovery in the poem as I write it,” says former U.S. poet laureate Rita Dove in this 2009 interview for Big Think, in which she answers questions about poetry and her writing process.

“What persuades in poetry, what moves, what transforms—and what is memorable—starts with music.” Jorie Graham talks about the importance of musicality and the influences of American modernist and English romantic poetry on her writing. Graham’s new collection, Fast (Ecco, 2017), is featured in Page One in the May/June issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

“It's important that the criticism be constructive because otherwise it's destructive.” In a video for Big Think, Jacqueline Woodson explains the three stages of critique that are part of her writing process. Woodson speaks about her most recent novel, Another Brooklyn (Amistad, 2016), in “A Great Good” by Rigoberto González in the September/October issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

The Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist who this week won the 2014 Orion Book Award from Orion Magazine for her novel MaddAddam (Nan A. Talese, 2013), is seen here discussing her creative process as part of Big Think.

“I worry about what’s going to happen with those good, younger writers.” Author John Irving discusses the past, present, and future of the publishing industry and the challenging literary landscape for first-time novelists.

Author Nathan Englander explains that the age-old writing advice "write what you know" isn't about events but rather about universal emotions like love, loss, and longing.

Novelist and screenwriter Tom Perrotta, author most recently of The Leftovers (St. Martin's Press, 2011), offers advice to writers and debunks the maxim of always writing what you know.

According to Salman Rushdie, the key to writing is concentration, not inspiration. He tells the fine folks at Big Think that writing "requires deep attention to your characters, to the world they live in, and to the story you have to tell."