The quest to feature as many MN Book Award nominees before the April 16 ceremony marches on! You can play along at home, and watch as a link to each author’s answers are added to this post
This week we have Matt Burgess, a transplant from Queens who received his MFA from the U (incidentally, you should read this nice profile of Matt & his book from the alumni mag). His first book Dogfight, A Love Story has been nominated in the Novel & Short Story category.
Oh! And while digging around for dirt (kidding) about Matt I found a podcast from his reading at the U with fellow-nominee Peter Bognanni and John Jodzio. I’m listening to it as I type. You should go give it a listen too, after you read his answers to the 6 questions we always ask.
What book(s) are you currently reading?
I’m about halfway through The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival by John Valliant. It was recommended to me by Hans, one of the co-owners of the wonderful Micawber’s Books in St. Paul. Everyone should go there if they don’t already. Hans has read everything, knows his customers’ tastes (sometimes better than they do; I never would’ve picked up this book on my own), and he’s a recommendation machine.
Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character? Who?
Of course! Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice. Doesn’t everybody have a crush on her? A close second is Nately’s whore from Catch-22.
If your favorite author came to Minnesota, who would it be and what bar would you take him/her to?
I imagine Dostoevsky might struggle with Minnesota Nice, so I’d take him to the CC Club.
What was your first favorite book?
Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Disgusting Sneakers.
Let’s say Fahrenheit 451 comes to life, which book would you become in order to save it from annihilation?
Fahrenheit 451. I can’t think of a book that’d be more useful in the event that Fahrenheit 451 came to life.
What is one book you haven’t read but want to read before you die?
Michael Chabon’s next book, whatever that might be. No pressure Chabon!