Interview: Michael Kimball

I loved Dear Everybody by Michael Kimball and reviewed it last week. Today he pops by to answer some questions.

SP: I really enjoyed the book, one of the best things I have read this year, and I am intrigued by how you went about putting it together. Did you have a storyline which you then broke down into letters and documents or did you do it the other way around?

MK: It happened with the letters first and the storyline came out of that. I learned about Jonathon as the reader does, letter by letter and document-by-document. I made it up as I went along, though in no particular order. I never outline what I’m writing and I try to not know what is going to happen next. I try to keep that from myself for as long as I can.

SP: It is probably lazy shorthand to describe Dear Everybody as 'experimental' but I am lazy, so I will. Are you concerned that in choosing an experimental way of presenting the narrative that you might scare off more mainstream readers? Perhaps you don't give a shit?

MK: I know you’re not lazy. There’s no way you could read and write as much as you do and be lazy. Regardless, I wasn’t worried. It’s never been something that I’ve worried about. I write the books exactly as I want them to be and then hope that they find a publisher and an audience. I feel lucky that I’ve been able to this. Besides, it’s not as if Dear Everybody is difficult to read; it just looks different.

SP: If Jonathon were to leap from the page and take corporeal form, do you think you'd want to hug him or give him a slap?

MK: I would have to start with a hug and then I would help him to find a good therapist.

SP: A question about the mechanics of writing. Are you a 9-5 desk man? Longhand on pads? Coffee shop scribbler? Laptop? Mac or PC?

MK: It depends on what stage I’m in with a novel. The first draft is mostly written longhand on legal pads in bed. After that, I type everything into the computer and print out those pages and then revise and rewrite and reorganize. I’m willing to change anything. And I can write anywhere. Much of my first novel was written on the subway in NYC. Lots of my work has been written on trains or planes. Also, Mac, definitely, and desktop, mostly.

SP: So I am now a convert and want to read more of your work. What do you recommend I try out next?

MK: I would say work backwards and try How Much of Us There Was. Also, if you like the short form, there is the ongoing postcard life project.

SP: Dear Everybody would make a great movie, any studios sniffing round at the moment? Or would answering the question jinx it?

MK: Let’s not jinx anything. In the meantime, there is this brief film of a book trailer:

SP: Last of all, visitors to my blog are cordially invited to name a favourite book for my readers to check out. Care to suggest anything?

MK: I just finished Leanne Shapton’s Important Artifacts, the story of a failed relationship told as an auction catalog. That’s worth a look.

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Michael Kimball’s third novel, Dear Everybody, was recently published in the US, UK, and Canada. The Believer calls it “a curatorial masterpiece.” Time Out New York calls the writing “stunning.” And the Los Angeles Times says the book is “funny and warm and sad and heartbreaking.” His first two novels are The Way the Family Got Away (2000) and How Much of Us There Was (2005), both of which have been translated (or are being translated) into many languages. He is also responsible for the collaborative art project Michael Kimball Writes Your Life Story (on a postcard).

Oh, and he has a lovely website and blog.