20 min listen
V.V. Ganeshananthan, author of “Brotherless Night”
FromWriters on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
V.V. Ganeshananthan, author of “Brotherless Night”
FromWriters on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
ratings:
Length:
59 minutes
Released:
Jan 16, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
Writers use language with intention. So when V.V. (Sugi) Ganeshananthan’s Brotherless Night uses the word “terrorist” six times on the first page of a novel about the Sri Lankan civil war, and incorporates the second person, the reader understands they’re as much active participant as passive observer in the book.
Sugi joins Marrie Stone to talk about the novel’s origin and why she initially didn’t have the “chops” to write it. She talks about her own relationship with Sri Lanka and the research that went into rendering this period of history to life.
Writers may find interest in Sugi’s decision to write in the first (and second) person; the power of writing in the subjunctive; how to describe a foreign time and place (with its particular dishes and unfamiliar names) without being overly explanatory; how Sugi deals with difficult writing challenges the same way she deals with going to the dentist; finding trusted readers; and more.
Sugi is the author of Love Marriage, which was longlisted for the Women's Prize and named one of the best books of the year by The Washington Post. Her work has appeared in Granta, The New York Times, and The Best American Nonrequired Reading, among other publications. She teaches in the MFA program at the University of Minnesota and co-hosts the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast on Literary Hub, which is about the intersection of literature and the news.
Read more about Brotherless Night in the January 15, 2023 NYT Book Review.
For more information on Writers on Writing and additional writing tips, visit our Patreon page. To listen to past interviews, visit our website.
(Recorded on January 12, 2023) Host: Barbara DeMarco-Barrett Co-Host: Marrie Stone Music and sound design: Travis Barrett
Sugi joins Marrie Stone to talk about the novel’s origin and why she initially didn’t have the “chops” to write it. She talks about her own relationship with Sri Lanka and the research that went into rendering this period of history to life.
Writers may find interest in Sugi’s decision to write in the first (and second) person; the power of writing in the subjunctive; how to describe a foreign time and place (with its particular dishes and unfamiliar names) without being overly explanatory; how Sugi deals with difficult writing challenges the same way she deals with going to the dentist; finding trusted readers; and more.
Sugi is the author of Love Marriage, which was longlisted for the Women's Prize and named one of the best books of the year by The Washington Post. Her work has appeared in Granta, The New York Times, and The Best American Nonrequired Reading, among other publications. She teaches in the MFA program at the University of Minnesota and co-hosts the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast on Literary Hub, which is about the intersection of literature and the news.
Read more about Brotherless Night in the January 15, 2023 NYT Book Review.
For more information on Writers on Writing and additional writing tips, visit our Patreon page. To listen to past interviews, visit our website.
(Recorded on January 12, 2023) Host: Barbara DeMarco-Barrett Co-Host: Marrie Stone Music and sound design: Travis Barrett
Released:
Jan 16, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Novelist Anthony Marra, author of "Mercury Pictures Presents": Anthony Marra is the New York Times bestselling author of The Tsar of Love and Techno and A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, longlisted for the National Book Award. He joins Marrie Stone to talk about his latest novel, Mercury Pictures Presents, and how a book he began over eight years ago suddenly took on new and unsettling relevance in today's America. Marra shares his struggles with writing this book, managing a large cast of characters and an enormous amount of research, as well as some general writing advice for novelists. He stresses the importance of filling your notebook with questions, reading broadly, writing daily and more. If you find this or other interviews useful, consider supporting the show on Patreon. Download audio. (Recorded on September 8, 2022) Music and sound design by Travis Barrett Barbara DeMarco-Barrett: www.penonfire.com Marrie Stone: www.marriestone.com Travis Barrett: h by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers