“Why I like writing is: it always feels like the first book.”
On the eve of his fifth book, the wonderful kaddish.com: A novel (Knopf), Nathan Englander looks back on 20 years of publishing. We get into how he wrote this novel at a breakneck pace compared to his previous work, the great advice he got from Philip Roth (I’m not jealous!), the chemistry of creativity, the importance of process, his need to push borders and examine boundaries, and making his bones on the sacred and the profane. Nathan also talks about the therapeutic aspects of teaching writing, being more appreciative of his yeshiva upbringing, treating books like religion, and getting into thrillers while working on his political novel Dinner at the Center of the Earth. We also discuss his foray into playwriting, how he knows when a story or book is done, and the challenges of being friends with other writers, among plenty of other topics. Give it a listen! And go buy kaddish.com: A novel!
“It’s lovely to live in New York as a writer, but you have to avoid static, as both reader and writer.”
“I replaced therapy with teaching. I find it really nice to have to put things into words for students.”
On the eve of his fifth book, the wonderful kaddish.com: A novel
Nathan Englander is the author of the story collections For the Relief of Unbearable Urges: Stories
