the paris review interview: nadine gordimer

Since 1953, when the first issue of The Paris Review appeared with an interview of E. M. Forster, the magazine’s Q&A encounters with the great writers of our times have come to be recognized as a sort of literary genre unto themselves: The Paris Review interview.

Nadine Gordimer (c) Dan Porges

There are other interviews that fascinate me more. Truman Capote’s, for instance. But the thing that caught my eye today was a question put to the South African writer, political activist and Nobel laureate Nadine Gordimer. Did the isolation of her childhood help her become a writer?

This interview was conducted in two parts—in the fall of 1979 and in the spring of 1980.

View the Full Interview

One Response to “the paris review interview: nadine gordimer”

1. Chrisy says:

   25 March, 2010 at 22:54

   Yes I’m sure she would have become a writer no matter what. But maybe we could improve on our school system just by having beautiful big libraries and letting the children wander about in them…
   ps arrived at your sight via a google search for Julia Jackson – discovered that beautiful photograph of her…thank you!