This is a selection of interviews with William Styron published during
the period 1951-1984, from the months just following publication of Lie
Down in Darkness, his first novel, to the period after publication of
Sophie's Choice. Some twenty-five interviews are reprinted here,
including six that are translated from the French and published in this
country for the first time.
Styron is one of the most frequently interviewed writers of his
generation. Unlike Faulkner, to whom he was often compared early in his
career, Styron has learned to be a patient and cooperative interview
subject. His comments in these interviews reveal much about the sources
of his fiction and about his early life. He also reacts to attacks on
his work, comments on his mission as a writer, and describes his
compositional habits.
This is a useful collection for those who wish to know Styron better and
to be guided by his conversations to clearer insights into his writing.
For scholars and for gene