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
William Reichard is a writer, editor, and educator. He’s the author of four poetry collections including Sin Eater, which is nominated for a MN Book Award in poetry. You can read a few excerpts from this collection over on his website.
Also, I noticed this interesting tid-bit which I am including purely for my sister, Ericka, because whenever I see the words social justice, I think of her.
William is the editor of the upcoming American Tensions: Literature of Identity and the Search for Justice, an anthology of fiction, poetry, and essays addressing the most pressing issues of our time. It’s coming out in the spring and some of the authors whose works will be in the book include Dorothy Allison, Sherman Alexie, Kurt Vonnegut, Louise Erdrich. . . and I could go on and on, but I won’t.
Onto William’s answers to our six questions!
What book(s) are you currently reading?
I’m reading Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (novel); One with Others by C.D. Wright (poetry); Tree of Codes by Jonathan Safran Foer (novel); and The Street of Crocodiles by Bruno Schulz (novel).
Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character? Who?
I felt very attached to Silver, a character in Lighthousekeeping by Jeanette Winterson. I wouldn’t call it a crush, but I didn’t want the book to end.
If your favorite author came to Minnesota, who would it be and what bar would you take him/her to?
I have many favorite authors, so out of the group that’s living, I’d pick Anne Carson. I’d take her to the wine bar at Cafe Latte.
What was your first favorite book?
My first favorite book was No Flying in the House, a children’s book about a little girl who discovers she’s a fairy. I was around seven years old when I read it. I still have the book.
Let’s say Fahrenheit 451 comes to life, which book would you become in order to save it from annihilation?
I would become The Solid Mandala by Patrick White. It’s a book I love.
What is one book you haven’t read but want to read before you die?
I’d like to get through The Making of Americans by Gertrude Stein. The first paragraph is stunning.