Leanne Shapton is a writer, art director, and illustrator. Her latest book, Swimming Studies, is an intimate memoir of her youth, much of which was spent as a competitive swimmer. The book is a collage of remembered pools and poolside experiences, described in photographs of swim suits, delicate water colours, and carefully revealing prose. Last night at IFOA Shapton participated in a roundtable discussion on style and substance, and she will be reading from her book this Saturday, October 27th, at 3 pm.
First, second or third person?
First.
Nabokov had lepidopterology , Hemingway had the hunt. Do you have an extra-lingual obsession?
Swimming.
Which writers do you wish were more widely read?
Jo Ann Beard.
Beg, borrow and steal—are there any books you go to when you’re stuck?
Alice Munro always calms me down. Looking at art helps too, Lucian Freud reminds me to have patience.
Do you think it’s fair to call writing a game? (Some writers, mostly men for example, have likened it to boxing.) Or would you prefer another metaphor?
I’d just call it work.
Can you give any #protips on delivering a good reading performance?
Go slow, smile.
Do you have any personal tips for surviving a literary festival?
Decent food between events. The Hay Festival has the best food.
What’s your ultimate past, present, or imaginary IFOA high point?
I was selling books at the 1991 festival and remember listening to Nadine Gordimer read, piped over the speakers.
What’s the strangest thing that you’ve seen happen at a literary festival or reading?
Susan Sontag ignoring her interviewer.
Which dead writer would you most like to sit on a festival round table with, and what would you discuss?
Edith Wharton to discuss her ghost stories.
On a scale of one to Proust, how would you rate your experience answering this questionnaire?
7?
