Poets & Writers Theater

“What I like about teaching is that it is always an experiment in unfolding a new language of value that isn’t a dominant value of the day, that needs to be developed to stay human,” says Ben Lerner, author of The Hatred of Poetry (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2016), about some of his approaches to mentoring and teaching poets in this interview with his Danish translator Tonny Vorm at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark.

“When I write, I feel much larger than the limits of my body,” says Ocean Vuong, author of Time Is a Mother (Penguin Press, 2022), in this interview with his Danish translator Caspar Eric at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark. “There is a mystery you tap into that is much bigger.”

“You’re writing in total isolation. It’s like getting dressed in the dark, the complete dark, and then you have to go out on stage.” On Late Night With Seth Meyers, Rebecca Makkai discusses what it feels like to publish a book, the research behind her new novel, The Great Believers (Viking, 2018), and why she enjoys teaching MFA students. The Great Believers is longlisted for the 2018 National Book Award in fiction.

“Language is tough. Using the right words is so important to me.” Paul Beatty, author of the Man Booker Prize–winning novel, The Sellout (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015), speaks about the labor of writing and his advice to students on Late Night With Seth Meyers.

The author of the novels Grendel, October Light, and The Sunlight Dialogues as well as legendary books such as On Becoming a Novelist and The Art of Fiction, had a tremendous influence as a creative writing teacher. Watch Gardner's children discuss their father's rigorous teaching style and his devotion to the craft of fiction—then see the man in action in this clip from Open Road Media.