Anne Lamott: Beyond Bird by Bird
Anne Lamott started out as a novelist, but it was her best-selling 1994 nonfiction work Bird by Bird: Some Instruction on Writing and Life that catapulted her to fame. The book became a touchstone to writers and non-writers looking for practical advice on the hard work of creativity. Kurt Andersen talks to Lamott about the lasting influence of Bird by Bird, and how her life experiences make their way into her writing.
“Bird by Bird can probably be summed up in about three pages,” says Lamott. “Keep your butt in the chair. You do it at the same time every day. You never wait for inspiration – it’s ridiculous, it will never come. No one in your family is going to hope for you to be a writer… it’s not convenient for anybody for you to write, and you have to do it badly.”
Lamott’s new memoir is Some Assembly Required: A Journal of My Son’s First Son.
(Originally aired April 29, 2011)
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