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Do you think of yourself as part of a historical tradition? And, if so, who are your
“colleagues”?
A fairly young historical tradition, but yes, I do. I’d be honored to be associated with writers like
Tony Lukas, Tracy Kidder, Philip Gourevitch, Melissa Fay Greene, David Halberstam, Gay Talese.
What do you think are the prospects for this kind of writing?
I got a call recently from somebody who’s doing a book about the end of New Journalism. I didn’t
quite know what to say. The end? I think of narrative nonfiction as so vital at the moment. Look at the
popularity of nonfiction books, or the success of public radio’s This American Life, a show
completely committed to the notion of nonfiction storytelling, or the continuing powerful presence of
publications like The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, and The Atlantic. That’s not to say
there couldn’t be more outlets. I wish there were. But overall, I feel pretty optimistic about narrative
nonfiction’s prospects. I’ve got to. I don’t know what else I’d do with myself. Telling stories. I can’t
think of anything else I’d rather be doing.
BY ALEX KOTLOWITZ:
Never a City So Real: A Walk in Chicago, Crown, 2004
The Other Side of the River: A Story of Two Towns, a Death, and America’s Dilemma, Nan A.
Talese/Doubleday, 1998
There Are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in the Other America, Nan A.
Talese/Doubleday, 1991