Session with Kazuo Ishiguro.
I wish I had written this post earlier. My memory is failing me and I'm getting old. But this is what I remember of it.
It was a Saturday post-noon in Cambridge, and the weather was wintry spring. My sister and I took the bus to attend a book reading by Kazuo Ishiguro, The Buried Giant in the yard. For once, we arrived early and took our seats. When Ishiguro came in and sat opposite Robert Birnbaum, I felt like a proud fangirl. He isn't my most favourite author or anything, but I felt like he was this really popular person that I know personally. And this familiarity obviously stemmed from reading his previous books. You get to know atleast a little bit about a person through their writing, I think.
He was dressed in all black. I had seen his pictures in books and on the internet but he looked different in person. Far from the boring English-man I thought he would be, he was quite casual. He picks up his worn copy of the book and starts to read from it. I already read the part he was reading, but oh was it beautiful. I realized that I read everything a bit different in my head, but this was better - both in manner of serenity and definitely in that of the accent. I could get used to it.
He closes the book shut and the questions begin. Ishiguro, an author for 3 decades now, reveals that he wanted to be a singer/songwriter when he was young. "Big mistake!", he laughed. He made so many music and movie references and lists, I could barely keep track. But I could see how the arty romanticism of music works its way into his writing. He doesn't write about complicated things - even though you may differ in thought when you read the sci-fi angle in Never let me go or the fantasy in The buried giant. It's simple, beautiful narratives in first person.
For me, he strikes because he gets one thing spot on, emotions. He expresses feelings, feelings that I feel, maybe even feelings that he feels, through his characters. He also spoke about popular themes and how he sticks to what he wants to write. This resonated with me.
If writing a sci-fi book would make you popular, you might as well do it to bring in the cash but you won't have a product that you absolutely love. As an artist, that is something one constantly does just for the sales, rather than the art itself. All this was lost in a diplomatic silence when I wondered why he writes. He obviously cares about all the labor that goes into his books, but how does he keep from succumbing to "intellectual pressure" or "marketing tactics". Or does he? To me, his writing seems earnest. He seems free. Although, sometimes I also hope not so I can dream he has some hidden treasure, way more beautiful than what is already out. But enough about me.
He said he has a small notebook where he writes down his ideas. Then he merges these ideas, develops on them, trashes them and comes up with something he likes. He spoke about writers block and how he rewrote Never let me go multiple times before he thought of bringing in the sci-fi to take the story forward. I thought it was funny how a lot of people think that's the main theme of the book. He said he revises whatever he has written numerous times before he continues - so say he writes 30 pages, he edits and rewrites a whole bunch before writing the next 30. That makes much more sense than writing 300 pages and editing 400. A definite pro-tip.
He talked about artists and their contributing to world's memory by expressing what is around them. He talked about how he writes from and of memories. Of expression and how it differs in people, reviews and how he keeps from reading them to stay sane. He talked about not liking anything he writes at first, his routine, his wife who is also his honest critic, his father who researched in oceanography, and lots and lots of pop culture.
It was a good day. Good advice, good book in hand and good food for thought. With all this, I headed out into whatever remained of the day.
 |
| I was closer, I promise. This was a far shot, literally. |
He was dressed in all black. I had seen his pictures in books and on the internet but he looked different in person. Far from the boring English-man I thought he would be, he was quite casual. He picks up his worn copy of the book and starts to read from it. I already read the part he was reading, but oh was it beautiful. I realized that I read everything a bit different in my head, but this was better - both in manner of serenity and definitely in that of the accent. I could get used to it.
He closes the book shut and the questions begin. Ishiguro, an author for 3 decades now, reveals that he wanted to be a singer/songwriter when he was young. "Big mistake!", he laughed. He made so many music and movie references and lists, I could barely keep track. But I could see how the arty romanticism of music works its way into his writing. He doesn't write about complicated things - even though you may differ in thought when you read the sci-fi angle in Never let me go or the fantasy in The buried giant. It's simple, beautiful narratives in first person.
For me, he strikes because he gets one thing spot on, emotions. He expresses feelings, feelings that I feel, maybe even feelings that he feels, through his characters. He also spoke about popular themes and how he sticks to what he wants to write. This resonated with me.
If writing a sci-fi book would make you popular, you might as well do it to bring in the cash but you won't have a product that you absolutely love. As an artist, that is something one constantly does just for the sales, rather than the art itself. All this was lost in a diplomatic silence when I wondered why he writes. He obviously cares about all the labor that goes into his books, but how does he keep from succumbing to "intellectual pressure" or "marketing tactics". Or does he? To me, his writing seems earnest. He seems free. Although, sometimes I also hope not so I can dream he has some hidden treasure, way more beautiful than what is already out. But enough about me.
He said he has a small notebook where he writes down his ideas. Then he merges these ideas, develops on them, trashes them and comes up with something he likes. He spoke about writers block and how he rewrote Never let me go multiple times before he thought of bringing in the sci-fi to take the story forward. I thought it was funny how a lot of people think that's the main theme of the book. He said he revises whatever he has written numerous times before he continues - so say he writes 30 pages, he edits and rewrites a whole bunch before writing the next 30. That makes much more sense than writing 300 pages and editing 400. A definite pro-tip.
He talked about artists and their contributing to world's memory by expressing what is around them. He talked about how he writes from and of memories. Of expression and how it differs in people, reviews and how he keeps from reading them to stay sane. He talked about not liking anything he writes at first, his routine, his wife who is also his honest critic, his father who researched in oceanography, and lots and lots of pop culture.
It was a good day. Good advice, good book in hand and good food for thought. With all this, I headed out into whatever remained of the day.
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