Listen to Their Voices: Twenty Interviews With Women Who Write

Rating:
Summary: Great for Would-Be Writers
Review: How sad that this is only available through "special order." It's a great collection of interviews with some of our most beloved and critically acclaimed female writers--mostly authors of fiction. Mickey Pearlman is an insightful interviewer, and the window into the creative process this book provides makes it good for would-be writers and writers' groups, not to mention anyone who is a fan of good fiction. Mickey Pearlman has also published another set of interviews called "A Voice of One's Own." It's apparently out of print now, but it's also a good read if you can get a hold of a copy. Some of the authors interviewed in these books include MFK Fisher and Laurie Colwin (before their deaths, of course), Josephine Humphreys, Alison Lurie, Carole Maso, Jill McCorkle, Janette Turner Hospital, Margaret Atwood, Kate Braverman, and Jane Smiley.

Rating:
Summary: The Pure Glory of Voice
Review: This interviewer, Mickey Pearlman, has mastered the technique of transporting the reader into the presence of some of the best writers in America. As a reader, I felt that I was in conversation with these writers hearing them talk candidly about their childhood, religion, racial and ethnic identity, the world of publishing and their respective genres. Here is a book that captures imagistic words that describe these authors'lives, values and writing habits. This book should be in the hands of every writer who wants to emulate success and comprehend other writers' defiance, imagination and obsessions. A great read!