F. Scott Fitzgerald
Interview Q & A:
1.What was your childhood like?
I was born on September 24th, 1896 in Minnesota and was raised by my parents, Mary and Edward. My mother made a small fortune being a whole sales grocer and my father was a salesman. Because of my fathers job, we were constantly between Buffalo and Upstate New York for the first few years of my life. We finally settled down back in Minnesota where I was then sent to a Catholic school in New Jersey at the age of 15.
2.What first inspired you to pursue writing?
It was at the Catholic school that one of my teachers saw my gift for writing and encouraged me to continue. I ended up pursuing it in Princeton.
3.Were there any major events that shaped you or your writing?
Something that shaped my writing greatly was fighting in World War I and meeting my first love, Zelda there at one of the camps. We had a whirlwind romance and ended up getting married. The marriage fell apart when I turned to drinking and my wife had a mental breakdown. This helped my writing in The Great Gatsby.
4.What do you consider your greatest achievement?
I would say my novel, “This Side of Paradise” was my greatest achievement because it brought me great success and acclaim. However, I have heard that since my death, The Great Gatsby has become a crowd favourite. It would have been nice to live for the fame.
5.What is your greatest regret?
My two greatest regrets are not having seen oversea combat and not being big enough to play football.
6. Since you are deceased, would you mind explaining how you died????????
After thinking the war would kill me, then my alcoholism, then my severe depression – in the end, it was a heart attack that killed me in Hollywood, California at the age of 44.
7. Do you have any words of wisdom in terms of writing or what it means to be a writer?
“You don’t write because you want to say something, you write because you have something to say.”
Reference Piece:
City Dusk
COME out . . . . out
To this inevitable night of mine
Oh you drinker of new wine,
Here’s pageantry . . . . Here’s carnival,
Rich dusk, dim streets and all
The whispering of city night . . . .
I have closed my book of fading harmonies,
(The shadows fell across me in the park)
And my soul was sad with violins and trees,
And I was sick for dark,
When suddenly it hastened by me, bringing
Thousands of lights, a haunting breeze,
And a night of streets and singing . . . .
I shall know you by your eager feet
And by your pale, pale hair;
I’ll whisper happy incoherent things
While I’m waiting for you there . . . .
All the faces unforgettable in dusk
Will blend to yours,
And the footsteps like a thousand overtures
Will blend to yours,
And there will be more drunkenness than wine
In the softness of your eyes on mine . . . .
Faint violins where lovely ladies dine,
The brushing of skirts, the voices of the night
And all the lure of friendly eyes . . . . Ah there
We’ll drift like summer sounds upon the summer air . . . .
Emulation:
I shall know you by your eager feet
the rapid sound of your heart as it beats
with my ear pressed against
the rise and fall of the chest
you whisper happy, incoherent words in your sleep
fading as you slip into the mindless deep…
And as we sleep, my soul
will blend to yours,
and as we sleep, my body
will blend to yours
and with more drunkenness than wine
your heart will beat along with mine…