Sheila Kohler is the author of ten books and the winner of numerous literary prizes including O'Henry awards, Antioch Review Prize, and New York Times Editor's Pick. Her third novel, the highly acclaimed "Cracks", was made into a film starring Eva Green. Her new novel, Love Child, has just been released. Sheila currently teaches writing at Princeton and Bennington. I had the pleasure of meeting Sheila at the Paris Writers Workshop in 2010.
Paris Writers News interview by Laurel Zuckerman
_____
Laurel Zuckerman: When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?
Sheila Kohler: Almost as soon as I could write--before I turned seven. I remember trying to write a book sitting on the toilet of all places! at a very early age.
LZ: Of all your books, which is your personal favorite?
SK: Always the last one or the one I am working on at the moment. I think it's because I really enjoy the process of writing and get caught up in the discovery of the story and the thrill of watching it unfold.
LZ: What inspired your idea for “Love Child”?
SK: "Love Child" is based on my mother's life. When she died she was a wealthy woman, having inherited money from my father who died when I was a child. But she did not leave her money to her only daughter. I explored this in the book trying to find out why.
LZ: Can an author improve on life in a novel?
SK: I think sometimes we do take a real life situation and improve on it in certain ways. I've often submitted passively to something in real life and then reversed the situation in a story or novel. The ending of my book "Crossways" is a reversal of this sort as is the end of a short story "The Transitional Object." The character is able to act out what I might have liked to do but didn't dare in life. Of course it is necessary to make this believable and to lead the reader there step by step.
LZ: Your short stories have been published in the best reviews and won numerous prizes. What makes a short story great? How do you write one?
SK: You have to get in and out fast. The first sentence must lead you to the last without anything extraneous in between. A short story often turns around one moment when things shift somewhat for the protagonist or are likely to shift.
SK: Hopefully one forms a habit of reading short stories as well as novels.
LZ: Sad or solemn short stories seem to predominate. Is this a fashion? A preference of authors or editors? (Or is this even true?)
SK: It is hard to write a short story with a happy ending, I think, perhaps because life really doesn't end very happily! As writers we need to tell a story but we also have to tell the truth about life which is not always what we would like it to be. I adore Alice Munro as a writer of short stories. As for editors I admire my own editor, Kathryn Court at Penguin books. She has been a wonderful editor for me.
LZ: How do you reconcile teaching with writing?
SK: I think the teaching helps with the writing in some ways. One is obliged to put things into words for students, to clarify points of technique. It also alleviates the loneliness of a writer and allows one to give back to others what one has learned painfully over the years. Of course, it is a juggling act, and one has to preserve enough time for one's own work which is sometimes hard.
LZ: What should a writer look for in a teacher? Is an MFA really helpful? Or is there a better way to learn?
SK: The best way to learn is by reading the great masters which you can certainly do by yourself. Still, an MFA gives you time and enables you to learn in company, to make friends, and sometimes to discover a mentor in a generous teacher. I think you should look for someone whose work you admire and who enjoys sharing what they have learned.
LZ: You’ve taught at the Paris Writers Workshop in the past. What should a writer look for in a workshop?
SK: Look for a good teacher whose work you admire. Ask students who have been to the PWW whom they liked.
LZ: You were born in South Africa but do not live there. What has being an expat meant for your creative life?
SK: I continue to write about South Africa and it has informed so much of my work. Of course, it means one is always on the outside of things but that is perhaps an advantage as a writer as it enables one to see things with some distance as an observer.
LZ: Is there a special place for writers today? Like Paris in the 20s?
SK: Perhaps New York is not a bad place. Certainly one is surrounded by many opportunities to enjoy the arts in so many different forms. Only problem is that it's expensive!
LZ: The novel to film process is a strange one for writers. How did you navigate this for Cracks?
SK: I didn't interfere in any way. I didn't write the screen play or give my opinion at all. Yet the film, I believe, though very different from my book, is a fine one. Sometimes it is perhaps an advantage for a film director not to stay too close to the source.
LZ: Have you ever thought of trying to write your own screenplay?
SK: No, I was advised not to try. Someone told me I would work away diligently and then some Hollywood hack would rewrite it. I don't know if that is true. After all there are some wonderful screen plays.
LZ: Many writers, especially those with hectic family lives, would love a few weeks of uninterrupted calm to focus on their work. Have you done writers retreats? What makes one successful? Could you recommend some good ones ?
SK: I once had the privilege of going to Yaddo for ten days. It was wonderful. I discovered much of a character I had been struggling with in my book, "Crossways." It was so helpful having whole days with nothing else to do but write--no cooking or cleaning or answering the telephone. I recommend it highly.
LZ: What are you working on now?
SK: I'm working on a new book which involves Dr. Freud! Very intriguing! though I'm just at the start. But I have sold a new book to Penguin called "The Bay of the Foxes," which should come out soon.
___
Sheila Kohler was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. She later lived in Paris for fifteen years, where she married, completed her undergraduate degree in Literature at the Sorbonne, and a graduate degree in Psychology at the Institut Catholique. She moved to the U.S. in 1981 and earned an MFA in Writing at Columbia. She currently teaches at Princeton University. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, O Magazine and included in the Best American Short Stories. She has twice won an O’Henry Prize, as well as an Open Fiction Award, a Willa Cather Prize, and a Smart Family Foundation Prize. Her novel Cracks was nominated for an Impac Award, and has been made into a feature film to be distributed by IFC. She has been published in 8 countries. Visit her on her website, www.sheilakohler.com.
.Sheila Kohler will talk about writing on July 12 at 6:30 PM at the PAN Writers Series. To RSVP, please contact [email protected].
Laurel Zuckerman is the author of Sorbonne Confidential and the editor of Paris Writers News.