“How can I know what I think, until I see what I say?” (E. M. Forster). How much of your writing surprises you?
Forster’s line rings true. Writing is a technology for thinking. I’m constantly amazed by how often I come up with new ideas in the process of constructing sentences. Writing is much more than a process of transcribing thoughts. Indeed, the possibility of surprise is what keeps me doing it.
What is the first thing you remember reading or being read to?
Some book about a dog named Spot and a bunch of words that rhyme with spot.
Is there a particular sentence that has stayed with you throughout your life?
Not a sentence exactly, but a mantra I was given at a Transcendental Meditation class in 1974. I treated it as precious and unique to me until I learned that everyone got the same mantra that year.
What is the most interesting item on your bookshelf?
Amid the books, there is a hat made entirely from an Amadou mushroom (Fomes fomentarius), given to me by Paul Stamets, the mycologist. It is vaguely alpine in style and lighter than air.
Have you ever regretted publishing something?
Yes! When I was just starting out as a writer, I wrote an obnoxious review of a book for the New York Times Book Review. I was showing off, and it’s easier to look smart criticizing rather than praising a piece of writing. Now that I know how hard it is to write a book, even a bad one, I would never take such nasty shots at a sincere effort, however flawed. The memory can still make me cringe in embarrassment.
Proust had madeleines. Which foods or meals trigger your memory?
Though I no longer eat meat, the smell of a chicken roasting in the oven is heavenly and bears me back to happy memories of comforting childhood meals.
Have you had any notable experiences meeting authors you admire?
Going to meet Wendell Berry in Kentucky. He showed me his writing house, a cabin on stilts hanging over a stream, and took me to see an old tobacco barn. I came as an urbanite with a knee-jerk hostility to anything having to do with tobacco, and he wanted to impress on me what a beautiful culture tobacco farming had been.
Do you have a favourite bookshop?
Powell’s in Portland, Oregon. Not only do they have everything you could possibly be looking for, in a sprawling, creaky wooden building, they put new and used versions of books on the same shelf, so you can decide whether to pay list or not.
How does distraction inform your writing?
I’m easily distracted, and constantly interrupt my writing to check email, reheat my coffee and snack. But I have no trouble picking up the thread again, and I’m told it’s unwise to sit for long periods of time.
What are you currently reading or watching?
I just finished Ian McEwan’s latest, What We Can Know, and Denis Johnson’s The Name of the World. On television, I recently finished The Diplomat and just started Lowdown. As a palate cleanser, I watch re-runs of Seinfeld after most new programs.
Who has influenced your writing?
Wendell Berry has been a key influence, both in terms of the sturdiness of his sentences and his way of looking freshly at things we take for granted, like the food on our plates.
Which piece of music have you listened to the most in your life?
Probably the Beatles, and either Rubber Soul or Sergeant Pepper’s.
Do your ideas form themselves in your head or on the page?
See question 1: On the page, mostly.
What is the worst job you ever had?
Driving a taxi in New York City in the 1970s. Amazed I have retained even a modicum of respect for humanity.
If you could choose any piece of art to hang above your desk, what would it be?
This one’s easy: it would be a painting by my wife, Judith Belzer. Why don’t I have one above my desk? Because I have too many windows and she doesn’t like to have to look at her work when she’s at home.
What was your favourite text studied at school?
The Odyssey.
Which font do you write in?
Courier, always.
What does a writing day look like for you?
Blessedly short. I usually write (when I’m writing, that is; lots of days are spent reporting, so not writing at all) from about 10am till 1pm, and then call it a day. I begin each session editing what I wrote the previous day, and then push forward a few pages till lunch beckons at 1. Afternoons are usually spent reporting, returning calls, answering emails, conducting interviews.
Which other art forms are necessary to your writing?
Sometimes I listen to music, which has to be either without words or so familiar I can ignore them, but it’s hardly necessary.
Where do you seek refuge?
I have a little writing studio I built in a remote corner of Connecticut. (I wrote about building it in my second book, A Place of My Own). Thirty years later, it remains my absolute favorite place to write and most indispensable refuge.
A World Appears: A journey Into consciousness by Michael Pollan is published by Allen Lane on February 24.
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