Margaret Laurence Interview, Part I
In a sense writing a novel is a sort of discovery . You know more or less where you’re headed but everything could change in the doing of it. And, you know, you can be very surprised. (- Margaret Laurence)
This video interview dates from 1966 when Margaret Laurence was 40 years old and on the verge of fame. The conversation ranges from the culture of independent, repressed Presbyterians to issues of Colonialism and African independence. She’s smoking, which would later kill her, but I loved seeing her at this stage of her life and relating to what she says about writing.
Personal reflections on Margaret Laurence here.
Posted on October 3, 2011, in Interviews and tagged Margaret Laurence. Bookmark the permalink. 5 Comments.
Lilian Nattel
Wonderful video, Lilian! Thanks for posting. Your blog is really shaping up to be pretty amazing.
Fascinating to hear Laurence talk about Africa, repression, etc.
I’m so glad you’re enjoying the blog, Sheila. I found the interview fascinating–someone I could relate to as a writer across 50 years. .
That’s exactly how I felt, Lilian.
Just by way of coincidence, I thought I’d mention that my brother-in-law, James King, wrote a biography of Margaret Laurence. It was quite well-received. He almost seemed to fall in love with her while writing it. She was a fascinating woman, apparently. A sign of her greatness is that she is so relevant even today. The fact that, as a Canadian author, she wrote about international issues and other countries put her ahead of her time,IMO.
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