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Q&A
South China Morning Post, 9 September 2000
Q & A
South China Morning Post, 9 Sep 2000
Describe your latest book.
The voicccce in the noisxxxe
The fine-tuned ranges
Sounds separated – precipitated –
Silence
Amplified
What are you reading now?
Paul Celan’s poetry (in translation).
If you could have a one-to-one with any writer in history, who would it be?
The Marquis de Sade (1712-1814). To talk – freedom, cruelty, society and stuff.
Which living author do you most admire?
JG Ballard. For his unreserved honesty, incisively cutting through to the heart
of the matter, assimilating various subjects with an imaginative leap. Original – visionary – an alchemist – a fountain of modern mythologies.
Which character in a book would you most like to be?
Ulrich in Robert Musil’s The Man Without Qualities.
Which character in a book would you most like to sleep with?
Scheherazade in Arabian Nights.
Which book do you wish you’d written?
None. If I had written what I’ve enjoyed reading, I wouldn’t have enjoyed them the same way.
What was the last book you couldn’t finish?
Patrick White’s The Tree of Man but intending to revisit; admirable writer.
What do you do when you have writer’s block?
Make tea!
The launch of Salt will take place from 7 pm-9 pm on Thursday September 14, at the John Batten Gallery, 64 Peel Street, Central.