Writers Inspired by Information They Found
Robin Coste Lewis on “Voyage of the Sable Venus” at the 2015 Miami Book Fair
Robin Coste Lewis talks about her research about depictions of Black women and how it inspired her book of poetry Voyage of the Sable Venus.
“Tin House Live: Denis Johnson: 2003”
Denis Johnson speaks about finding inspiration in newspaper articles for his novella Train Dreams. (He talks about this around the 14:14 mark.)
Toni Morrison on Beloved / Hay Festival
Toni Morrison speaks about the newspaper article that inspired Beloved as well as further context about that article.
Ottessa Moshfegh / Episode 17 of Selected Prose
Ottessa Moshfegh talks about research for Lapvona (around 13:26) as well as research as inspiration for McGlue (around 19:30).
Northwest “Anarchist Utopia” Explored in “Trying Home”
Justin Wadland talks about finding inspiration for his non-fiction book Trying Home while working on a newspaper cataloging project as a graduate student. A video interview with Justin Wadland.
Explore Some Online Resources, See If You Find Inspiration, and Do Some Writing:
Historical Topographical Maps – Preserving the Past
Library of Congress Digital Collections
Pacific Coast Architecture Database (PCAD)
Penn State University Libraries Digital Collections
Seattle Public Library Unique Collections
Smithsonian Libraries Digital Collections
University of Idaho Digital Initiatives
University of Illinois Libraries Digital Collections
University of Michigan Libraries Digital Collections
University of Oregon Libraries Digital Collections & Exhibits
United States and Washington State government documents
University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections
University of Washington Libraries Dissertations
University of Washington Libraries E-Newspapers
University of Washington Libraries Search
University of Washington Libraries Special Collections Finding Aid – Archives West
WSU Libraries Digital Collections
Prompts for Discussion about the Writing:
- What is interesting about the writing?
- What would you like to know more about?
- What is believable about the writing?
- How does it grab or hold your attention?
- Any words or phrases or lines that stick out? Why do they stick out?