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The Paris Review Interviews

The Paris Review Interview

Includes:

Mary Karr

Marilynne Robinson

Elie Wiesel

Graham Greene

William Faulkner

Walker Percy

Maya Angelou

Shelly Foote

Seamus Heaney

Anne Lamott

Quotes by Anne Lamott

Interview

Official Website

Conversation 2007

Amazon

Mary Karr Interview

The Liars' Club author discusses worshipping art, getting sober, becoming Catholic, and writing Lit by Bill McGarvey

From Busted Halo, March 22, 2010

Considering the harrowing stories of her Texas youth — plagued by the alcohol, drugs, violence and general mayhem she recounted in The Liars’ Club (1995) and Cherry (2000) — it is a minor miracle that Mary Karr lived to tell her tale. The fact that she still has more stories of tumult and survival as an adult to write about, though, really begins to edge into loaves and fishes territory.

In her third memoir, Lit, Karr moves past her “drug sodden” adolescence into her young adulthood where the joys of falling in love, getting married and becoming a mother are overwhelmed by her debilitating alcoholism, depression and family dysfunction. But Lit isn’t simply a catalog of grinding desperation and addiction. Karr combines a poet’s eye for extraordinary detail and tone — she was a Guggenheim Fellow in poetry — with an earthy honesty and humor to create prose that is beautiful, unadorned and filled with a survivor’s wisdom. Lit is Karr’s testimony to the actual, ongoing miracle in her own life: her conversion from devoted cynic to devout Catholic.

In the interview that follows, Karr discusses the difficulties she encountered in writing about alcoholism, sobriety and spirituality as well as her stormy relationship with a young David Foster Wallace and some hard-won advice for spiritual seekers.

Interview

Nan Merrill

NAN CRERIE MERRILL JERICHO - Nan Crerie Merrill, 78, made her journey back to her Beloved on Saturday Jan. 23, 2010, at the Vermont Respite House. Nan was born on Dec. 3, 1931, in Swampscott, Massachusetts, the daughter of Ernest and Merle Crerie. Nan was blessed with five children and their spouses: Deborah and Peter, Mark and Susan, Pamela and Danny, David and Lisa, James and Mary Ann. She was "Nana" to six grandchildren: Rachel, Elisabeth, Samantha, Austin, Martina and Madison; sister to Gail Roche; and "Auntie Nancy" to nieces and nephews: John, Jim, Kathy, Lori, Larry, and Norman. Nan touched the hearts of thousands of people through her monthly publication of Friends of Silence. She started this newsletter over 22 years ago in Detroit, Michigan. It has grown from a beginning group of about 40 members to more than six thousand subscribers world wide. Nan shared her deep spiritual insights and love of writing by authoring six books and editing numerous others. She encouraged and nurtured everyone who came into her path. Nan has led retreats, worked with inner city residents and been involved in prison ministry for many years. Nan was a friend and spiritual guide to many. She was also an avid sports fan who enjoyed watching golf, baseball, and football. A special thanks to Dr. Soultanakis and staff and to the wonderful caregivers and volunteers at Vermont Respite House. A private memorial service will be held in the spring. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Vermont Respite House.

Published in The Burlington Free Press on January 25, 2010