Терри Биссон - The Left Left Behind

What’s your advice to a wannabe writer?

The same advice Gary Snyder once gave to wannabe poets. Learn a trade. Plumber, carpenter, cook, mechanic. Learn how things fit together.

You have some experience teaching writing. Do you really think good writing can be taught?

Writing can be taught. The conventions of fiction: dialogue, point of view, timeline. Every writer should learn the baseline conventions. What can be taught about writing can be learned in a few months. Good writing is a different matter. It can be learned but not taught.

Peter Coyote gave you lots of credit for editing his memoir, Sleeping Where I Fall . How did you get that job?

Peter and I are old friends. We met in college and remained friends through the hippie commune Digger days, though we ran in different crowds. I was never part of the West Coast scene. Peter is a fine writer, he had already won a Pushcart Prize for a piece of the book, and only wanted another (colder) eye on how to shape the thing. That was me. It worked out well. I tried to get him to change the title, but Peter rejected all my bad ideas.

You also worked on Walter Miller’s sequel to A Canticle for Leibowitz.

Alice Turner recommended me for the job. Miller had worked for years on the sequel to his classic bestseller, but he was depressed and old and alcoholic besides, and he wanted somebody to finish the book according to his instructions. It was all there. All I had to do was land the thing, and the wheels were already down and it was lined up with the runway. I never got to meet Miller. He killed himself before St. Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman was finished.

Are these different skills — editing and writing?

Absolutely. The trick in editing is to stay out of the way. The editor should be invisible. I have edited several memoirs since Coyote’s, mostly of old political comrades and friends. I edited Diana Block’s book about being underground, Arm the Spirit . That was a pleasure. Also political prisoner David Gilbert’s memoir. And I edited a serious nonfiction book, Dan Berger’s history of the Weather Underground, Outlaws of America .

Does this mean you approve of the Weather Underground?

Very much. I came to know them late but I dug them from the beginning. Like the Panthers, they were young and foolish, and like the Panthers they restored militant internationalism to the American Left. The first time I saw them running through the crowd at the March on the Pentagon carrying a “Vietcong” flag, I thought, “Of course!”

How do you feel about anarchism?

As an idea I like it. But I am a big government guy. I’m a TVA baby. Still a Democrat.

Why are you raising your hand?

I thought of another satire. I wrote a story called “Pirates of the Somali Cast” a few years ago. I did it to make fun of all the people who thought pirates were cool (the Johnny Depp syndrome). I was unfair to the actual Somali pirates, though. In my satire I made then very very cruel and in fact, they are not, at least so far, or so it seems. Nothing to rival Guantanamo.

What do you think of hip-hop?

I think it’s sad. To me it’s a minstrel show. Saddest of all are the black intellectuals who celebrate it because it’s “authentic.” Lots of stuff is authentic.

How come there are no pirates in Pirates of the Universe?

Pirates are boring. The universe, on the other hand, is interesting.

You have written several books for young readers. Do you enjoy writing kids’ books?

Not particularly. I still get fan letters for my Boba Fett books though they were nightmare to write, since Lucas had to approve everything. I did a YA series about stock car racing that was even worse: NASCAR was trying to go mainstream and they killed all the hillbilly and redneck jokes. My adult characters couldn’t even chew tobacco or say ain’t. This was before NASCAR got hip and allowed Talladega Nights , the second funniest movie ever made.

What’s the funniest?

Spinal Tap . Everybody knows that.

Other than Lucas and NASCAR, have you had any encounters with censorship?

Very few. SF is generally under the radar, which is one of the advantages to not being taken seriously by the media. I did have a hard time placing The Left Left Behind , and I suspect that’s because it satirizes Israeli militarism. Christian fundamentalism is fair game but Israel is not.

You’ve been writing for some thirty-odd years. If you had it to do over what would you do?

Work harder. Learn to touch type. I still hunt and peck which is maybe why I am such a stingy writer. I always write short. My last two novels are novellas. This is not a career plan in SF.

Do you like fried green tomatoes?

Of course. Bourbon even better.

NOVELS

Wyrldmaker (Pocket, 1981)

Talking Man (Morrow, 1986)

Voyage to the Red Planet (Morrow, 1990)

Pirates of the Universe (Tor, 1996)

The Pickup Artist (Tor, 2001)

Dear Abbey (PS, 2003)

Numbers Don’t Lie (Tachyon, 2005)

Planet of Mystery (PS, 2008)

Fire on the Mountain (PM Press, 2009)

COLLECTIONS

Bears Discover Fire (Tor, 1993)

In the Upper Room: And Other Likely Stories (Tor, 2000)

Greetings: And Other Stories (Tachyon, 2005)

Billy’s Book (PS, 2009)

COLLABORATIONS

with Tom and Ray Magliozzi:

Car Talk (Dell, 1991)

with Walter M Miller:

Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman (Bantam, 1997)

with Stephanie Spinner:

Be First in the Universe (Dell, 2000)

Expiration Date: Never (Dell, 2001)

NOVELIZATIONS

Johnny Mnemonic (1995)

Virtuosity (1995)

Alien Resurrection (1997)

The Fifth Element (1997)

Galaxy Quest (1999)

The 6th Day (2000)

BIOGRAPHY

Nat Turner: Slave Revolt Leader (Chelsea House, 1988)

Ona Move: The Story of Mumia Abu Jamal (Plough, 2001)

Tradin’ Paint: Raceway Rookies and Royalty (Scholastic,2001)

MEDIA SERIES

X-Files

Miracle Man

(HarperCollins, 1999)

Nascar: Pole Position (as T.B. Calhoun)

Rolling Thunder

In the Groove

Race Ready

Hammer Down

Full Throttle

Speed Demon

Spin Out!

(HarperCollins, 1998-99)

Star Wars: Boba Fett

The Fight to Survive

Crossfire

(Scholastic, 2002-3)

Jonny Quest (as Brad Quentin)

Demon of the Deep

Peril in the Peaks

Attack of the Evil Cyber-God

(HarperCollins, 1998-90)

Speed Racer (as Chase Wheeler)

Race for Revenge

(Grossett & Dunlap, 2008)

SHORT STORIES

“The Two Janets” (1990)

“Over Flat Mountain” (1990)

“Bears Discover Fire” (1990) —Hugo, Nebula, Locus, Sturgeon awards

“They’re Made Out of Meat” (1991)

“Press Ann” (1991)

“The Coon Suit” (1991)

“Cancion Autentica de Old Earth” (1992)

“Two Guys from the Future” (1992)

“Next” (1992)

“Are There Any Questions?” (1992)

“Carl’s Lawn & Garden” (1992)

“Necronauts” (1993)

“The Shadow Knows” (1993)