'Revealing whatever you might find'

 

“Whether writing fiction or nonfiction, I've never had the sense I was 'making up' a character. It feels more like watching people reveal themselves, ever more deeply, more intimately.” – Kathryn Harrison

 

Born in Los Angeles in March of 1960, Harrison earned degrees at both Stanford and the University of Iowa, where she first studied in that school’s famed Writers’ Workshop.  Her debut novel, Thicker Than Water, was an instant success and paved the way for a career that (to date) includes 8 novels and 9 nonfiction books, including one about true crime.  Her most recent nonfiction work is On Sunset.

 

Almost as well known for her essays, which have been included in many anthologies and magazines like Harper's, The New Yorker and Vogue, she also is a regular reviewer for The New York Times Book Review.   And, she teaches memoir writing in the Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing at New York’s Hunter College. 

 

“I admire writers who succeed at what I consider the first demand of art,” she said.  “(And that is) that the artist vivisect himself without pity, without hesitation, determined to reveal whatever he might find.”