'Anything you can imagine'

 

“The one thing emphasized in any creative writing course is 'write what you know,' and that automatically drives a wooden stake through the heart of imagination. If they really understood the mysterious process of creating fiction, they would say, 'You can write about anything you can imagine.'” – Tom Robbins

Born in North Carolina on July 22, 1932 Robbins grew up (as he puts it) “as a hillbilly,” the grandson of two Baptist preachers who he said were “mightily influential” in his development as a storyteller.

 

In addition to Even Cowgirls Get The Blues (both a bestseller and a highly popular movie) Robbins is the author of 8 other novels, numerous short stories, many essays and several screenplays.  He still writes every day.  “I show up in my writing room at approximately 10 a.m. every morning without fail.   Sometimes my muse sees fit to join me there and sometimes she doesn't, but she always knows where I'll be.”

 

Among his many awards is the Literary Lifetime Achievement Award (given in 2012) from the prestigious Library of Virginia; being named by Writer’s Digest magazine as “One of the 100 Best Writers of the 20^th Century”; and “King For A Day” this past September (2023) in La Conner, WA, where he has lived since 1970.  That daylong event also raised money for a children's art program at his local library.  

“It’s never too late to have a happy childhood,” Robbins said.