Extracts from Takedown of a sensitive deerslayer, Book Worm column, Irish Independent, Saturday 8th November 2014 American novelist Richard Ford rents a house in Connemara every Autumn and spends a good deal of time there shooting Woodcock which apparently is a treasured pastime. I learned this information from Observer literary editor Robert McCrum, who recently visited the acclaimed 70-year-old fiction writer at his West of Ireland retreat - a sanctuary where Ford can revel in the independence of solitude and look forward to getting out his gun. Coincidentally, after reading this interview, I took up James Wolcotts collection of essays, Critical Mass, and came upon a 1989 piece on Ford which began with the observation that He-man American writers have a heavy appetite for ammo and went on to quote Ford himself, telling an interviewer I dont walk. I hunt. Something dies when I stroll around outside. Wolcotts piece, originally written for Vanity Fair, is what Americans term a takedown...As for Wolcott himself, Ive never wanted Bambis mother on my conscience. When I walk in the woods, Im content to look.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 14:41:46 +0000
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