The writer's writer

Interview with John McGahern



"But judgment has no place in the writer's trade. I think an ounce of sympathy is worth a ton of judgments."



One of several excellent quotes in the interview, including this:



'No matter what happens to you, no matter how depressing the material, if it becomes depressing to write, or indeed, to read, it's no good. I firmly believe that unless the thing is understood it's useless, and that the understanding of it is a kind of joy. It's liberating.'



There is also a generous excerpt from McGahern's new book, Memoir.

Ossian