Description

Larry McCaffery and Sinda Gregory interview Tom Robbins at his home in La Conner, Washington. The interview begins with a discussion of why Robbins lives in such a small, secluded town which leads into a description of Robbins’ background. Robbins expounds on the influence of art and religion on his writing. Robbins discusses the background to writing his first novel, Another Roadside Attraction. The discussion turns to the use of humor in literature and the way it is not respected by critics. In the final half hour, now at a restaurant and mostly not reflected in the published version of the interview, the three discuss travelling, potential film adaptations of Robbins’ novels and local politics. An edited version of this interview appears on pages 222-239 of Alive and Writing: Interviews with American Authors of the 1980s, ed. Larry McCaffery and Sinda Gregory, University of Illinois Press, 1987.