Preview Mode Links will not work in preview mode
THE BIBLIO FILE is a podcast about "the book," and an inquiry into the wider world of book culture. Hosted by Nigel Beale it features wide ranging, long-form conversations with best practitioners inside the book trade and out - from writer to reader. Why listen? The hope is that it will help you to read, write, publish, edit, design, and collect better, and improve how you communicate serious, big, necessary, new, good ideas and stories...

Feedback or suggestions? Please email notabenebeale@gmail.com 

Dec 24, 2022

Here is Part ll of my conversation with Michael Torosian featuring his soon to be released memoir/bibliography Lumiere Press: Printer Savant and Other Stories (listen to Part l here).
 
This episode gets to the essence of Michael's book writing/publishing practice: the interview. We discuss a list of guidelines Michael has developed based on his experience interviewing some of greatest photographers of the 20th century. It can be found in Savant in a chapter entitled 'Residual Landscapes, The Photographs of Edward Burtynsky.' Here's a summary:
 
1. I educate myself to the fullest extent about the artist's life and work.
2. I make up a question list of at least two or three pages...The I throw the list away.
3. I begin the interview with something plucked from the uniqueness of the day, the inception of our new experience.
4. I listen. It's imperative to maintain situational awareness and stay in the moment.
5. I avoid leading questions
6. I probe for greater detail.
7. I re-ask questions
8. In the editing process I splice answers together from various "takes." There is no improvisation or invention
9. I strive to be self-effacing.