The website editors at the New Zealand Listener seem to be ahead of schedule - my large feature on James Lee Burke, published in this week's issue, is already available to read in full online (usually it takes 2-3 weeks for the full version to be up online for everyone to read). So for those of you international Crime Watch readers, who can't get your hands on a print copy of this week's Listener, click on the image above or the link below to read my interview-based feature on Burke, "Nothing trivial".
Nothing trivial
More than 50 years on from his first book, the crime writer’s crime writer James Lee Burke continues to address the greatest issues of our time.
An archaeologist sifting dirt to uncover hidden history, a sculptor chipping away marble to release the image trapped within: for James Lee Burke, putting pen to paper – or fingers to keys – isn’t a matter of fleshing out pre-planned plotlines or detailed character biographies. Writing isn’t about creating art through contrivance; it’s something far less conscious. “I never see more than two scenes ahead … I don’t really plan things very well,” says Burke, who has been acclaimed as crime-writing’s gold standard for his lyrical, lush thrillers in which brutal violence is entangled with issues personal and profound. “I’ve never known where the characters come from. I have always believed that the story is written in the unconscious, so for me writing a book is more of a matter of incremental discovery rather than creation.”
Click here to read full article.
Craig - A great interview and Burke is an absolutely fascinating man. Thanks for sharing!
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