Pam Houston Reading
Author Pam Houston reads from her novel, Sight Hound. She explains the format of her novel. Each chapter is written in the first-person, from the perspectives of different characters, including nine humans, two dogs, and one cat. Houston also explains how her personal struggle with her Irish wolfhound’s cancer diagnosis informed the storyline for Sight Hound.
Houston goes on to discuss the character and temperament of Irish wolfhounds, noting that they were originally bred in Scotland to not only kill wolves but also to “protect the castle while the king was gone.” Houston addresses the question of whether or not she considers herself a feminist writer, pointing out that she hopes that all women writers feel as “entitled” to their stories as that of male writers. Houston outlines her beginnings as a writer, noting that she began writing at a very young age as a distraction from her abusive household environment. She recalls that she would frequently rewrite the endings to movies when she disliked the original ending. Lastly, Houston points out that she wrote Sight Hound as a way to honor her experience she had with her Irish wolfhound, and to honor animal-human relationships in general.
In: "Live from Prairie Lights" Audio Archive | Fiction
Authors: Pam Houston
Date Recorded: February 10, 2005
Works Read: Sight Hound, by Pam Houston
Program: Live From Prairie Lights
Format: reading
Contributors: Introduction by host Julie Englander.
Topics: Irish wolfhounds, animal-human relationships, feminism