John D'Agata: "Saya akan bertanya kepada orang-orang yang murah hati t...

"Saya akan bertanya kepada orang-orang yang murah hati terhadap pekerjaan saya sendiri. Setelah kelas suatu hari, seorang profesor puisi berkata kepada saya, "Hei, ada orang Basho yang menurut Anda menarik," dan saya menemukan Basho. Seorang guru fiksi mengatakan kepada saya, "Anda harus membaca Clarice Lispector jika Anda tertarik pada hal-hal di antara itu," dan kemudian Lispector muncul. Itu bukan sihir. Anda tetap buka mata."

--- John D'Agata

Versi Bahasa Inggris

I would ask the people who were generous toward my own work. After class one day a poetry professor said to me, "Hey, there's this guy Basho you would find interesting," and so I found Basho. A fiction teacher told me, "You ought to read Clarice Lispector if you're interested in that sort of in-between stuff," and then Lispector appeared. It's not magic. You just keep your eyes open.