Tracy Kidder talks to the Bygone Bureau about the danger of rereading your work: “Only two things can happen, and neither one is good. Either I’m reading and think how can I possibly have allowed that sentence to go to print, or I think, ‘Did I used to write that well?’” The quality of free writing: “Dreck.” Writing talent: “Anyways, talent… I’ve never understood what that really is.” Why he bought back the rights to one of his books so he would be the last person to ever read it: “I wrote it in a kind of swashbuckling first person, which I dislike.” And, the intelligence of writers: “Yeah. I don’t think that all really good writers are very smart in a sort of academic way. In fact, some seem downright stupid.” Don’t be insulted; I’m sure he wasn’t talking about you.
Input your search keywords and press Enter.
The Rumpus needs your help. We need to raise $25,000 $10,000 to fill our funding gap for 2024.
Our home base is Asheville, NC and Hurricane Helene severely impacted our ability to host events, launch new initiatives, and caused other significant financial setbacks this fall.
Can you support us at any level by Dec. 31? Every dollar counts and is a sign that our readers collectively value creative labor and independent publishing.
Sign up for the weekly Rumpus
Once a week, we'll send you a roundup of what's new on the magazine, invites to upcoming events, open calls for submissions, and more!