The Paris Review App: “Writers at Work” Series

January 2, 2013

the_paris_review_logo_310x206_c

He liked to stand when writing....according to his interview with The Paris Review

He liked to stand when writing….according to his interview with The Paris Review

The Paris Review App is valuable sustenance  for anyone who is a lifelong learner. The reason to get the free app for The Paris Review is because of the “Writers at Work” interviews. They include some of the most incredible interviews of the 20th century from Literary giants, Ernest Hemingway, to T. S. Eliot. Joe David Bellamy, in his book,  Literary luxuries has  called the interview collection, “one of the single most persistent acts of cultural conservation in the history of the world.”The Writers at Work Interviews are all free but you may sign up for a fee-based magazine subscription if you choose.

There is so much twitter and facebook fodder in our modern world that while waiting for a carwash, a doctor, or your child from school — The Paris Review resource is a great way to get fed with some deep  or witty thought.

The interviews,  are conducted by a variety of people, but most often by  George Plimpton. Plimpton edited the Review from its founding until his death in 2003. It is currently being edited and curated by Lorin Stein . The interview with Ernest Hemingway  is a classic. Any student of writing can learn a great deal from  Hemingway’s habits revealed in the interview.  The interviews are conducted as deep dives.  Too often I find myself empty after surfing by phone or tablet during any number of 15-minute waits ; here in the Review, I  feel refreshed by these interviews.

Ironically, I  was on Facebook when director-writer, Paul Schrader , was looking for off the path apps for his new mini ipad. Two people had responded to his query, both with the answer of “The Paris Review.”

The Review’s highly regarded “Writers at Work” series includes interviews with William Styron, Ernest Hemingway, Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Ralph Ellison, William Faulkner, Elizabeth Bishop, and Vladimir Nabokov. The Paris Review is a quarterly literary magazine established in 1953.