E. L. Doctorow
March 21–22, 2005
- Reading: Streaming video, MP3 audio
- Discussion: Streaming video, MP3 audio
- Introduction by Caroline Rothstein: MP3
- Photos from Doctorow's visit
- See the Kelly Writers House calendar entry for more about this event
- 2005 Fellows seminar notes
March 22 Discussion
Listen to the whole discussion, moderated by Al Filreis MP3
- receiving questions as a writer MP3 (2:37)
- leftism MP3 (5:16)
- the ideology of critics MP3 (4:39)
- self-revising consensual reality MP3 (3:45)
- writing on living people versus historical figures MP3 (5:58)
- writing historical novels MP3 (4:26)
- Albert Einstein in Doctorow's City of God MP3 (2:04)
- the collective voice in the beginning of Ragtime MP3 (2:15)
- satire, especially in Ragtime MP3 (2:04)
- on Rev. Pemberton's speech at the end of Doctorow's City of God MP3 (2:27)
- Daniel as protagonist MP3 (1:53)
- the writing process MP3 (4:16)
- the influence of Walt Whitman on Doctorow's own writing and view of New York City MP3 (5:44)
- the assimilation of religion in popular culture MP3 (4:47)
- Doctorow's favorite writers MP3 (1:33)
- Doctorow reads from the end of Life of a Writer MP3 (4:31)
Also Available
- Kelly Writers House Podcast #20, featuring E.L. Doctorow MP3
Bio
Since emerging as a major American writer with the publication of The Book of Daniel in 1971, E. L. Doctorow has become one of the most celebrated fiction writers of our time. Ragtime, his 1975 novel about the spirit of America between the turn of the century and the First World War, would soon be acknowledged as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century by the editorial board of the Modern Library. His later novels, which follow in the Doctorow tradition of mixing historical figures with fiction, include World's Fair (1985), Billy Bathgate (1989), and City of God (2000). In 1998, Ragtime was adapted into a Broadway musical. Doctorow is the recipient of the National Book Award, two National Book Critics Circle Awards, the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Guggenheim Fellow ship, and the presidentially conferred National Humanities Medal.
Photos
