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Interview with Walter Mosley
- University Press of Mississippi
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136 Interview with Walter Mosley Paula L. Woods/2004 Recorded at the Left Coast Crime 14 Conference (February 19–22, 2004) by Tree Farm Communicatons (www.treefarmtapes.com). © Paula L. Woods. Printed by permission. Audience: (applause) Walter Mosley: Wow! Paula Woods: Welcome. Thank you so much for coming out. Thank you so much for this tribute, which will be one of many for our guest of honor. I think it’s probably useless for me to introduce Walter Mosley, but I will try. Hopefully you read my appreciation of him, and those of you who have, know that he is probably one of the more prolific writers you will see at Left Coast Crime this weekend. He has written eight Easy Rawlins novels and a prequel, short stories as well as a second series—as if one was not enough— featuring Fearless Jones and Paris Minton, and two collections of stories about Socrates Fortlow. And, if that were not enough, he also has written two science fiction novels, a blues novel, RL’s Dream, as well as his latest novel, The Man in My Basement. And, if that weren’t enough, he has also written three books of social and political critique and commentary. And if that weren’t enough . . . (audience laughter). And there is much more. Walter is one of those people who made me a mystery writer. It was meeting Walter in 1993 at the American Book Sellers Association and seeing this black man and thinking, “Wow. I haven’t seen a black mystery writer since I couldn’t remember when.” Walter was probably the first I’d ever met. And, I certainly hadn’t heard of one since—and I’m trying to think of Gravedigger Jones and—Chester Himes. Mosley: You’re right. Woods: So that sent me on a journey that eventually landed me here, writing books of my own. But, certainly, Walter’s has been one of those influential series, and everything he’s written has really enlightened me every step of the way. I’m sure a lot of you feel that way too. Let me start with a couple of questions for you. I read the New York Times PAULA L. WOODS / 2004 137 “Q&A”—I don’t know how many of you read that a few weeks ago—and I love the question about genre fiction (laughs): “Is genre fiction really on the margins, and how does it feel to be out there on the margins?” I’d like you to talk a little bit about how you see mystery fiction, how you see genre fiction, and where you think it fits in. Mosley: Who’s the guy who was running for president, who only won in Massachusetts? What was his name? I forgot his name. (audience laughter) Woods: [Michael] Dukakis? Mosley: Was it Dukakis? Let’s say it was Dukakis. I was in New York one day, and it was time for elections, and New Yorkers were very happy. I said, “Why?” And they said, “Well, you know, because Dukakis is going to be president, and we’ll all be happy.” And I went, “Are you crazy? (audience laughter) Dukakis is not going to be president.” This woman said, “Everybody I know is voting for Dukakis. (audience laughter) Everybody I’ve met is voting for him; everybody I’ve talked to.” And I went, “Wow! You live in Manhattan, right?” (audience laughter) She went, “Yeah.” I said, “He’s not even going to take New York.” (audience laughter) And I live in Manhattan. I never go to Queens, and if I had I would have known more about Dukakis at that time. (audience laughter) But the literary world marginalizes, in its own kind of small way, genre fiction . Anybody who’s a publisher, owns a bookstore, owns a distribution unit, anybody who works in Hollywood and adapts books into movies knows that the genres, especially the mystery genre and science fiction, are the biggest things. They’re gigantic. People like Harold Bloom are actually marginalized by the genre. And so the idea that I’d be marginalized by somebody like Harold Bloom is ludicrous. I mean, (audience laughter) it’s insulting. But it’s also ludicrous because it’s just not true. Woods: Kind of like who’s zoomin’ who? Mosley: Yeah, right. (laughs) It’s so funny. I’m supposed to do a reading [at the conference]. I’m going to read a little talk because the...