Mon, 3 March 2014
Virtual Memories – season 4 episode 8 - The Slippery Animal "I'm always in the middle of a struggle with a short story. You'd think I'd have the hang of it by now. It's a slippery animal.'" Literary legend Bruce Jay Friedman joins the Virtual Memories Show for a fun conversation about his literary career, which encompasses six decades of short stories, novels, plays and Oscar®-nominated screenwriting. We talk about his newest projects, how both the writing and the sale of short stories have changed over the course of his career, and why he's happier in that form than the novel. Why was he successful in Hollywood when F. Scott Fitzgerald and Anthony Powell crapped out there? Listen in to find out! "Hollywood to me was fun. Like a boy being let loose in a candy store. I was offended when I'd get called in off the tennis court to write a few scenes. I can tell you: there is no one who had more fun than I did in Hollywood." We also talk about how stories begin, where he sees himself in the continuum of Jewish American writers, why Dustin Hoffman hates him, whether he’s ever been tempted to write The Big Novel, why he’s getting more Jewish as he gets older, why he prefers the Franco-Prussian war over other wars, and how to find the right kind of pistachio nuts. "I always feel guilty about being entertained. I feel like I should be reading Suetonius." Bonus: I rant about leaving my job and ask you for money! Enjoy the conversation! Then check out the archives for more great episodes! Related conversations: Follow The Virtual Memories Show on iTunes, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and RSS! About our Guest Novelist, playwright, short story writer and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Bruce Jay Friedman was born in New York City. Friedman published his first novel Stern Credits: This episode’s music is Frenesi by Artie Shaw. The conversation was recorded at Mr. Friedman's home on a pair of Blue enCORE 200 microphones |