Larry Watson

Larry Watson grew up in Bismarck, North Dakota, and received his BA and MA from the University of North Dakota and his PhD in creative writing at the University of Utah. He is the author of the novels Let Him Go, Montana 1948, American Boy, In a Dark Time, White Crosses, Laura, Orchard, and Sundown, Yellow Moon; the fiction collection Justice; and the chapbook of poetry Leaving Dakota.

Watson's new novel is As Good as Gone.

Recently I asked the author about what he was reading. His reply:

I teach as well as write, and over the summer, I’ll be reading and rereading books by and about Ernest Hemingway. Among the works about Hemingway will be Michael Reynolds’ five volume biography. It’s a readable, fascinating look at the life and the fiction, and the ways they converge and differ. Hemingway could be a jerk as well as a genius, and while I know full well that those qualities are not incompatible, that good character is not a requirement to creating great art—or playing great baseball or making great music—I still wish that the people whose work I admire could themselves be admirable. In that regard, I’m still like the hero-worshipping kid I once was. Fortunately, Hemingway was able—often, but not always—to bring forth a better self in his art than in his life. So when I read about Hemingway behaving selfishly in his marriage, for example, I have the counter ready at hand—a great story like “In Another Country” or a great novel like Farewell to Arms. I also hope to read, in advance of the fall semester’s start, The Sun Also Rises, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and the complete stories. Not a bad way to spend a summer.

Visit Larry Watson's website.

The Page 69 Test: As Good as Gone.

My Book, The Movie: As Good as Gone.

--Marshal Zeringue