I think I’ve blogged
twice in the last year or so about one of Wisconsin’s fine authors, Michael
Perry, author of Population: 485, Truck: A Love
Story and Coop, and I can’t resist another entry after reading the morning
paper today.
Perry, an amusing chronicler
of rural life as well as his experiences as a farmer and an emergency
responder, is the subject of an article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel by
Jim Higgins, a talented editor and writer who I used to work with. For
starters, it’s hard to resist Jim’s unexpected lead:
“As an essayist,
humorist and country life chronicler, Wisconsin's Michael Perry has amused and informed many readers who would never
otherwise think of sticking their arms up a cow's rectum.”
Orifices aside, the article is
evidence of how good an e-mail interview can be if the subject works at it and
if the interviewer’s questions are witty and well-chosen. I suppose most
authors (and other people, for that matter) refuse e-mail interviews because
they take too much time, versus a phoner or in-person interview, but e-mail
sure does provide a chance to polish great answers, and to control how you are
quoted.
Here’s
a little more flavor of Jim’s back-and-forth with Perry:
Q: What
farm animal would you least want to meet in a back alley?
…
Fear-and-trembling-wise, it wouldn't pay to get trapped up an alley with a
large hungry pig . . . one sees the beady eyes and slobber and
quickly recalls that the pig is omnivorous and that includes you.
Q: What
is the most surprisingly or unexpected difference between rural life and
urban/suburban life?
No one leaving
the tavern to do brakestand burnouts on Main Street at 2 a.m. That said, even
given the space of 37 acres, one fool rooster duped by a full moon can leave
you longing for the soft sirens of the city.
If you’re interested, you
can find the entire Perry article here.
--Ron Kovach, senior editor,
The Writer