|
Neil Campbell
Neil Campbell
was born in Audenshaw, Manchester, in 1973. While working variously as
a warehouseman, bookseller and teacher, he had poems and stories
published in small press magazines, and was the editor of Lamport Court. In
1999, he completed an MA dissertation on the short stories of Raymond
Carver and in 2006, graduated with a distinction from the Creative
Writing MA at Manchester Metropolitan University.
|
Interview
with Neil Campbell
The
Short Review:
How long did it take you to write all the stories in your collection?
Neil Campbell: A
while
TSR: Did you
have a collection in mind when you were writing them?
NC: No, I wasn't so
presumptuous
TSR: How did
you choose which stories to include and in what order?
NC: The same way in
which I used to edit a magazine, by instinct.
TSR: What does the word "story"
mean to you?
NC: Memory
and imagination allied to craft, alongside something unquantifiable.
And a place where people aren't judged.
TSR: Do you
have a "reader" in mind when you write stories?
NC: No,
I'm just trying to write the best story I can write. Though I sometimes
look up and see dear old Raymond [Carver] frowning at me from on the
wall.
TSR: Is there
anything you'd like to ask someone who has read your
collection,
anything at all?
NC: Do you know a
literary agent who has a clue about working class people? If so give me
a bell because I've got a cracking novel and little cash for stamps
TSR: How does it feel knowing that people are buying your book?
NC: They aren't,
and that's the tragedy (to quote David Brent)
TSR: What are
you working on now?
NC:A story called
Piccadilly Gardens, and finishing like Robinho
TSR: What are
the three most recent short story collections you've read?
NC: Tooth & Claw by TC Boyle, Selected Stories of Andre Dubus, Collected Stories of John Cheever.
|
