an interview with Arthur Bradford

Last year saw the release of Arthur Bradford's collection of short stories, Dogwalker. It is an amazing collection with stories that are somehow both simple and complex, oddly wacky and normal. He also put out the movie How's Your News. Check out the website for more info.

Dogwalker is written in a very basic, straight-forward style but still retains a high
degree of hilarity. Is this representative of most of your writing? How hard do you work at achieving this?

I think it’s important that writing be clear and easy to understand. As a reader, I’m easily confused, so I didn’t want that to happen when people read “Dogwalker”. I like when things are simple and clear. I also think it’s funny when strange events are told with a sort of casualness. So that’s probably why the writing comes off like that. I work hard at it though, I mean pretty hard. I’m not very disciplined about writing. But I didn’t just throw these stories together. I tried to write the kind of stories I’d like to read myself.

The characters in Dogwalker appear to be taken straight from real life. Where do you get your inspiration for such colorful characters?

I tend to be drawn to odd behavior and I enjoy the company of people who are offbeat. I have also worked with people with disabilities for about ten years now. I’ve met a lot of colorful characters that way. I return every summer to a summer camp for adults with disabilities. For about four summers, during the period of time when I was writing “Dogwalker”, I lived in this cabin with five older men who all had Downs Syndrome. We called them “The Downies”. Those guys were some interesting characters.

You've moved around a lot. How has that affected your writing and how did you end up in Vermont?

Yes, I’ve moved every couple of years since I was 22. Texas, Califronia, Virginia, Vermont. I like living in different places and exploring them. Sometimes it’s disruptive though, all the moving around. Maybe I would have written more if I’d stayed in one place. Vermont is where part of my family is from. I’d lived in Austin, Texas and then Charlottesville, VA and I really wanted to experience some snow. I like snowy winters. I had a cheap living arrangement in Vermont too. It’s very quiet and peaceful there. I’m now spending the summer in Brooklyn though. I might move here.

Some of your stories were published in McSweeney's. How did you make that connection?

I’d met Dave Eggers a while back when he was doing Might magazine and then he sent me nice rejection letters when he went to work at Esquire. One day he called me and said he was sick of the big magazine stuff and was starting his own publication. He asked me for one of the stories he’d rejected from Esquire so I gave it to him, sort of thinking I was doing him a favor. But it was the other way around! That was one of my biggest breaks because we started doing readings in NYC for McSweeney’s and I’d been working on this goofy guitar accompaniment to some of my stories when I read so that was a good platform for that. Suddenly the folks at Esquire were calling and accepting stories they’d rejected months earlier. Seriously, the same exact stories.

Who would you describe as your contemporaries? Who do you like to read and who influences you? We know you love Denis Johnson.

Well, Denis is a guy who I look up to a lot. I don’t consider him my contemporary. I admire him too much. Some other current writers whom I admire are: Dave Eggers, JT Leroy, Zadie Smith, Elizabeth Gilbert, David Sedaris. I like that book “Geek Love” by Katherine Dunn. I love “Junky” by William Burroughs. I’m a big fan of Mark Twain too. I guess he’s not really a contemporary. Jonathan Safran Foer’s book is good too. And oh yes, I think the undeground comic scene is amazing. People like Chris Ware, Julie Ducet, Peter Bagge, Harvey Pekar, R. Crumb. They’ve been big influences on me.

pics courtesy Red Diaz (thanks)

An average day in the life of Arthur Bradford?

Wake up, walk the dogs, figure out what to do. Try to do it. Procrastinate, play guitar, talk to someone on the phone. Go for a long walk with the dogs. Meet friends, go home, think about writing, maybe sit down and write until late at night, maybe read something, maybe just go to sleep.

You have facial hair. We at hobart are huge fans of facial hair. Thoughts?

Well, I just have sideburns. I grew a beard this winter but it didn’t take. If you’re going to have facial har, don’t play around. Do it and wear it proud.

What would a short list of personal likes and dislikes be comprised of?

Like: Hard Rock, Snow, Dogs, Swimming, People who can’t control themselves…. Dislike: Corporate advertising campaigns

Are you currently, or have you ever been in possesion of a Lumberman 650 chainsaw?

No, I made that brand up. I use a Stihl.

What is your favorite Burt Reynolds film?

I liked Boogie Nights a lot. Cannonball Run was sort of a classic, though I don’t really remember much about it.

On the McSweeney's #6 CD, you perform Roslyn's Dog with your guitar. How involved are you in music, and how important is it to you to make a reading entertaining?

I’m not really a good musician, though I like to play a lot. When I first started playing guitar with my stories it was sort of a joke, like I’d just be strumming and making sort of an ass of myslef, but you can only do that for so long before things must change. So I’ve gotten better. I try to make it make sense now, like a soundtrack. Also, sometimes, for certain stories, I’ll get a cheap pawn shop guitar and smash it up during the climax. This can be startling and surprising to some people when they see me read. I think it’s extremely imprtant to be aware of that fact that there are people watching you when you read. It’s kind of cruel to ask an audience to just sit there and listen to you read for too long, especially if you’re unprepared and just reading the text straight. I’m not saying everyone should play an instrument or use props. I don’t do that all the time. I just believe a live reading should give the story an extra demension.

It's odd describing one's self as a writer. You've noted this and mentioned your film aspirations, where success seems just as hard to come by. How's this working out for ya? Was the difficulty ever a concern for you?

Well, I pursued two things at once, writing and filmmaking, so that if one failed I could still feel good about the other. I’ve never felt comfortable describing myself as either a filmmaker or a writer. Now that I have a book pblished and a film done I guess it should be easier. I say I’m a writer sometimes. It took a while to get to that point, plenty of rejection letters. Same with the film stuff. You have to believe that you are doing something good.

We have yet to experience your film, How's Your News. What's the status on that and what future plans do you have in both film and publishing?

How’s Your News? is a feature length documentary about this news team we formed at the camp for adults with disabilities where I’ve worked for years. It’s a team of five people with mental disabilites who conduct these great man-on-the-street interviews. We took a trip across the US with them and filmed the interviews and the experience. It played film festivals this year and was bought by HBO. It aired on Cinemax a few times in Feb. It’s playing here and there now. You can find out more about it at: howsyournews.org. We’re hoping to make more films and I’m working on another book too, a longer one.

Thank you. Good luck with Hobart….