College of Arts and Sciences

What an exciting time that was! What vivid memories! Unpacking the intricacies of language in P.K. Saha's linguistics courses. . . . . Reading Man's Rage for Chaos as part of a Roger Salomon course. 1. You were a professor of English at Kent State University. What was your field? My...

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Roger rarely got angry with me, but one time in his office he barked, "Amy, the Ph.D. program is not a cakewalk!" I have no idea what prompted this, but since Roger was normally gentle as a lamb, it got my attention. Mostly I remember his thoughtful longhand comments and...

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"It’s refreshing in many ways to write short stories after having tackled a novel, which is such an all consuming beast of an undertaking. Of course, writing a short story is draining, too, for you have to work on drawing large ideas in a much smaller space." 1.   Silk...

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"The ever-present possibility of disaster throughout our history has— I would argue—helped to strengthen the culture. "        David Rutledge 1. Could you talk a little bit about this project? I understand that Where We Know: New Orleans as Home is the second book in a planned trilogy. What did...

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How did you first come to write mysteries? And why mysteries particularly? And why funny mysteries? Actually, I wrote my first mystery story at the age of ten, and during my teens I was very drawn to romantic suspense. Nancy Drew happened early, and Sherlock Holmes, and Agatha Christie...

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