{"id":8854,"date":"2015-06-15T19:47:11","date_gmt":"2015-06-15T23:47:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/?p=8854"},"modified":"2015-06-15T19:47:24","modified_gmt":"2015-06-15T23:47:24","slug":"episode-122-a-muse-apart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/episode-122-a-muse-apart","title":{"rendered":"Episode 122 – A Muse Apart"},"content":{"rendered":"

Virtual Memories Show #122:
\nJonathan Galassi – A Muse Apart<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/virtualmemories\/Episode_122_-_A_Muse_Apart.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>

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“The literary writer still needs someone to have a dialogue with, to help shape their book, understand it and make it as presentable to the world as possible.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"51xxp01m9xL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_\"<\/a>FSG president Jonathan Galassi has been a literary editor and publisher for more than four decades, so how did that experience prepare him for publishing his first novel? Find out in this week’s show, as we talk with Mr. Galassi about Muse<\/a>\"\" (Knopf)! We talk about his history (and future) in publishing, how he wound up a publisher-hybrid of Roger Straus and James Laughlin, how he learned to shut off his editor-self in order to get in touch with writer-self, why he took the challenge of writing a character’s world-changing poetry, and more. Give it a listen!<\/a><\/p>\n

“The most important thing an editor has is taste. And how do you get taste? By reading a lot of books, and coming to understand what makes them good. Having a visceral love or detestation is important.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"jonathan_galassi_535\"<\/a>We also talk about Muse<\/em>‘s affectionate satire of the New York publishing world (okay: he calls it a “revenge fantasy” in our conversation), why he enjoys the rough-and-tumble aspects of the biz, the degree to which authors’ expectations have changed over the decades, the degree to which publishing relies on luck, the best training for an editor, our favorite Philip Roth novels, the value of big advances, where he falls on MFA vs. NYC, why the better literary writers should shouldn’t self-publish, and whether it was a taboo for him to venture into fiction writing after spending so many years editing fiction writers. (Photo:\u00a0Yvonne Albinowski\/New York Observer)<\/em><\/p>\n

“You go into publishing because you love literature, and you end up reading a lot of crap.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/virtualmemories\/Episode_122_-_A_Muse_Apart.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>

Podcast: Play in new window<\/a> | Download<\/a><\/p>

Subscribe: Spotify<\/a> | TuneIn<\/a> | RSS<\/a> | More<\/a><\/p>\n

Enjoy the conversation!<\/a>\u00a0Then check out\u00a0the archives<\/a>\u00a0for more great episodes! You might like:<\/p>\n