S5 Ep. 33: The Politics of Craft: Charles Baxter on How His Essays on Writing Respond to a Changing World

Writer and professor Charles Baxter joins Fiction/Non/Fiction hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss his new essay collection Wonderlands: Essays on the Life of Literature, and how his thoughts on craft are linked to the times in which we live. He defines concepts he has used, including “wonderlands,” “Captain Happen,” “request moments,” and “toxic narratives,” and offers illustrations from literature and the world around us to show how these can inform the writing of fiction. For example, he explains, Donald Trump rejects his loss in the 2020 presidential election as a toxic narrative because it would change his understanding of who he is. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/.This podcast is produced by Anne Kniggendorf.Selected Readings:Charles BaxterWonderlandsGryphonBurning Down the HouseThere’s Something I Want You to DoThe Art of SubtextBehind Murakami's Mirror | The New York Review of BooksOthers:Is the World Really Falling Apart, or Does It Just Feel That Way? by Max Fisher - The New York TimesS4 Episode 6: Hope on the Horizon: Charles Baxter and Mike Alberti on Despair and Renewal in FictionS1 Episode 4: We're All Russian, Now World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis CarrollHaruki Murakami 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami Either/Or by Elif BatumanThe Lighthouse The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë Dracula by Bram StokerThe Wicker ManBennett SimsLacy JohnsonGet OutMike AlbertiJamaica Kincaid The Things They Carried by Tim O’BrienStacey D’Erasmo Anna Karenina by Leo TolstoyDog Day Afternoon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.