of the innumerable books and pamphlets that have overflowed the nation, scarce one has made any addition to real knowledge, or contained more than a transposition of common sentiments and a repetition of common phrases."- Samuel Johnson

*************
I read and enjoyed The Women's Room back in the day, a couple of years after it first appeared. It was certainly an addition to the pool of human wisdom. But like most books that thump you over the head with their message, I found myself resenting it afterwards. The interview with its author, Marilyn French, who died in May, in the current issue of Bookslut, fascinates me. It fuels my persistent curiosity about the state of profound disgruntlement that seems to be the inevitable fate of creative people of any significant worth. Brittany Shoot is the interviewer:
A (FAILED) INTERVIEW WITH MARILYN FRENCH

Roughly a week after sending them off, I received her pithy answers to my interview questions and went into a bit of shock. A number of my writer friends have had similar experiences; so far, I'd avoided them. Occasionally, you have the misfortune to catch a subject on a bad day, an off week, or maybe you are to blame. Do your questions seem trite without the framework in which they will be placed, without knowledge of the audience that will digest the answers? Did I manage to offend in some way, or is this person simply an uncooperative interviewee?