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McCracken was on vacation in Massachusetts when LSLL caught up with her via email, but she graciously agreed to make time for our online interview while she was away.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Lone Star Literary Life: First of all, Welcome to Texas! You\u2019ve been here about five years. What\u2019s surprised you about the state?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Elizabeth McCracken<\/strong>: I always say that Texas is the one place in the world where people are nice to you in stores, get your jokes. I\u2019m from New England, where people are funny, but, well, crabby. Proudly crabby, I\u2019d say. Nevertheless, my first months in Austin, I was surprised by how many great conversations I had with people\u2014at the mechanic, at the Social Security office, just anywhere.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Who gave you your first big break as a writer? How did it happen? And what do you remember most about it?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
This was back in the old days, when business was conducted over the phone and through the mail. I was in graduate school. My friend Max had recommended me to his agent, Henry Dunow, and had suggested I give Henry a couple of stories. Within a few days, I became Henry\u2019s client; and within (I think) three weeks he\u2019d managed to sell my first book. I was unbelievably lucky. I still remember staring at my big black telephone, willing it to ring.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Congratulations on all of your success with Thunderstruck & Other Stories<\/em>. It\u2019s your first short story collection in twenty years. Why did you return to short stories after such a long absence?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
A few of the stories in the collection are older\u2014I think the oldest is eighteen years old\u2014pieces I wrote while I was working on novels. Well, the novels didn\u2019t pan out. Two years ago I had a semester\u2019s leave from UT, where I teach in the New Writers Project and the Michener Center for Writers, and I sat down and wrote a bunch of short stories to fill out a collection. I think part of it is teaching graduate students: most of them are writing short stories, so I have short stories on the brain. And honestly, I love reading short stories so much. Many of my favorite writers are short story writers.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
How would you describe Thunderstruck <\/em>for our readers?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Gloomy with a ton of jokes. Melancomedic, maybe.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
How has publishing changed since your first book?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
A great deal, of course\u2014my first book came out in 1993, more than twenty years ago. Certainly there are fewer first collections of short stories being published, which is a shame. Not all the changes are for the worse, though\u2014the rise of the small press is enormously inspiring. Back then small presses published wonderful books that (by and large) looked pretty ugly\u2014now they\u2019re glorious. And the most important thing: writing hasn\u2019t changed. It\u2019s still made up of the same materials: time, sedentary hours, hubris, patience, impatience, language.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Last question: What\u2019s been your favorite place to visit in Texas\u2014so far?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Of course Austin, where I live, is full of astonishments\u2014that I can go swimming any time I like at Barton Springs floors me. I\u2019m also a big fan of the Scottish Rite Theatre. I love the San Antonio Art Museum. But my favorite trip so far was to West Texas, following the route prescribed by Marla Akin, the senior program coordinator at the Michener Center, Marfa to Fort Davis to Balmorhea. We stumbled across Julie Speed\u2019s studio in Marfa. It was a perfect trip.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
* * * * *<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Praise for Elizabeth McCracken’s THUNDERSTRUCK & OTHER STORIES<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cRestorative, unforgettable . . . a powerful testament to the scratchy humor and warm intelligence of McCracken\u2019s writing.\u201d \u2014Sylvia Brownrigg, New York Times Book Review<\/em> (Editor\u2019s Choice)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u201c[A] bewitching and wise collection . . . playful, even joyful.\u201d \u2014O: The Oprah Magazine<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cStunningly beautiful . . . brilliantly moving . . . Moments of joy and pure magic flicker and pitch-perfect humor acts as a furtive SOS signal through the fog of loss.\u201d \u2014Los Angeles Times<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cEach of Thunderstruck\u2019s<\/em> nine stories is a storm: delightful and destructive, packed with electricity, fascinating to watch unfold.\u201d \u2014Salon<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cThe stories here are brilliant, funny and heartbreaking. . . . Elizabeth McCracken is a national treasure.\u201d \u2014Paul Harding, Wall Street Journal<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cPure delight: one lyrical, impeccably constructed sentence after another.\u201d \u2014Chicago Tribune<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cBeautifully wrought . . . As painstaking as a watchmaker, McCracken disassembles life down to its smallest parts.\u201d \u2014Boston Globe<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cThe psychological punches McCracken delivers, with her keen sense of irony and mordant humor, are unforgettable.\u201d \u2014Miami Herald<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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