Wayne Johnson Reading
Wayne Johnson reads excerpts from two of his books, The Baseball Diaries and The Devil You Know. Johnson then goes on to discuss his childhood years spent in northern Minnesota, as well as the subsequent experiences that served to inform his novel, The Devil You Know. Johnson describes The Devil You Know as a coming-of-age story that is written with an authorial voice. He points out that this is his only book to employ an omniscient narrator, but felt that it was important to be able to give the book a wider scope.
Johnson recalls his time spent at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop; specifically, the time spent with professors James McPherson and Jane Smiley. He claims that Smiley taught him to write with discipline, to consider the form instead of writing anything that would come into his head. Johnson goes on to discuss his role as a screenwriter, and the various restrictions that are placed on him due to this specific writing form.
In: "Live from Prairie Lights" Audio Archive | Fiction
Authors: Wayne Johnson
Date Recorded: July 16, 2004
Works Read: The Baseball Diaries: Confessions of a Cold War Youth by Wayne Johnson The Devil You Know by Wayne Johnson
Program: Live From Prairie Lights
Format: reading
Contributors: Introduction by host Julie Englander.
Topics: Northern Minnesota, character development, Iowa Writers' Workshop, writing process