Episode 122—Tracy Kidder on Writing Badly and Looking for People Over Subjects

"The possibilities of doing something similar [to fiction] in nonfiction really did appeal to me," says Tracy Kidder, winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Are you riffin’ kiddin’ me!? By virtue of today’s guest I’m assuming there might be a new CNFer or two to our little marauding gang of turbulent souls in this corner of the Internet. Welcome. We play heavy metal music, we kick maximum ass, and we will, we will rock you. This is the Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where I speak to bad ass tellers of true stories about where they came from, what and who inspires them, and how they approach the work, so that you can apply those tools of mastery to your own work. I’m your mutha-riffin’ host Brendan O’Meara, hey, hey. Today’s guest is none other than Pulitzer Prize—winning author Tracy Kidder, author of take a deep breath Brendan… Soul of a New Machine, Among Schoolchildren, Old Friends, Home Town, My Detachment, Good Prose, Mountains Beyond Mountains, Strength in What Remains, A Truck Full of Money, and House. That, CNFers, is a body of work. And who tells them better than Tracy Kidder, friends? He’s been a literary hero of mine every since I got into this mess. If you’re as big a headcase as I am, I’d go ahead and read Good Prose, the book he wrote with his long time editor and former mentor of mine Dick Todd. It lets you know that you’re not alone and these increasingly digital times, it’s easier and easier to feel, what’s the word??? Shitty... Tracy’s an apex CNFer in a long line of them that have appeared on this show. Please enjoy this conversation with the one, the only, Tracy Kidder. Cross that one off the Bucket List...How’d you like it? I hope you dug it. I tried my bestest for y’all. Thanks very much to this show’s sponsors Goucher College’s MFA program in nonfiction and Creative Nonfiction Magazine. You can visit Tracy Kidder.com for more information about Tracy and his work and events and the like. I believe he has an author Facebook page. While I’ve got your attention, I’d ask that if you dig the show, share it with a friend, subscribe, and leave an honest review over on Apple Podcasts. They’re a big, big help and I’m deeply appreciative of whatever you can do to help out the show. Visit brendanomeara.com to sign up for my monthly reading list newsletter. Great books and great podcasts. Once a month. No spam. Can’t beat that. I think that’s a wrap. Remember, if you can’t do interview! See ya! Thanks to Goucher College's MFA in Creative Nonfiction and Creative Nonfiction Magazine for sponsoring this podcast.