Literary Birthday – 27 September – Jonathan Evison

Happy Birthday, Jonathan Evison, born on 27 September 1968.

Jonathan Evison Quotes

1. Limited points of view let the writer dispense – and the reader gather – information from various corners of the story. It all becomes a kind of dance, with the writer guiding the reader through the various twists and turns. The challenge is keeping readers in step, while still managing to surprise.
2. Reading is, at its best, not an escape; it is genuine experience. A novel is not a monologue, but a conversation, a collaboration between writer and reader, an invaluable exchange of human conditions.
3. I usually write in my underwear, with a space heater running full blast, and three dogs sleeping at me feet.
4. I love being a struggling artist; it makes me feel very alive.
5. But once you publish a book, doesn’t it by definition become the realm of public discourse? Otherwise, wouldn’t we just write books and print them out ourselves, and give them to specific people we felt comfortable giving them to–like gifts? Isn’t publishing sort of a social contract?
6. I know I’ve lost my mind. But I’m not concerned, because it’s the first thing I’ve lost in a long time that actually feels good.
7. I am doing the things that I wish my favourite books didn’t do or I wish they had. I write books that I want to read.
8. It’s funny to me that everybody is so quick to point out how different each one of my novels is, and I don’t disagree, but really I only have one major theme: reinvention. I have to believe that we can be the people we want to be, or at least inch our way closer to our idealized selves.
9. I had the advantage of failing for so long that I never got hung up on (publishing and success).
10. After a while I was just writing books to become a more expansive person. I couldn’t stop myself… I owe my whole life to writing.

Jonathan Evison is an American author of  literary fiction, which often incorporates elements of historical fiction, contemporary fiction, and offbeat humour. As a teen, Evison was the founding member of the punk band March of Crimes, which included future members of Soundgarden and Pearl Jam. He hosts the pod cast A Fresh Face in Hell with Jonathan Evison. He has written the New York Times Bestselling books All About Lulu, West of Here, The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving, This is Your Life, Harriet Chance!, Lawn Boy, and The Heart of Winter. His third novel was adapted into a feature film, The Fundamentals Of Caring. Many of his characters attempt to alter their life paths and start over. He focuses on how individuals move forward despite trauma. His favourite authors include Jack London, TS Eliot, Nabokov, Melville, Dickens, Vonnegut, and Tom Robbins.

Image: Photograph created by Keith Brofsky.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jonathan_Evison.jpg#filelinks
Quotes: A-Z

by Amanda Patterson
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