Reading the first essay — the customary “note from the editor”, done in a slightly more editorial manner by Sven — in the recent issue of AGNI, (full disclosure: I am an editorial assistant at this particular magazine) I noticed that Sven had seen something in Cormac McCarthy that I had seen in my favorite author, Vladimir Nabokov. In relating his experience watching a youtube video of McCarthy speaking to Oprah, he explains that he wonders why McCarthy seems to lack something of the sturm and drang he expected in the interview. I once noticed this in Nabokov in the one taped interview I am aware of him allowing.
As a side note, I would suggest that you just take a moment to imagine a famously technophobic literary critic watching Oprah interview a reclusive genius on television for her polarizing book club. (more…)
