“My mind is a very bad neighborhood and I should not go there alone,” says Bronwen Dickey in her fourth trip to the podcast
She was here for Ep. 21, 45, 137 and now 248.
It’s always a good time when I get to catch up with her.
Continue reading “Episode 248: Humble and Important Gifts with Bronwen Dickey”By Brendan O’Meara
“Clarity is the goal I want to be working toward. The more clear a piece of writing is, the more honest it feels.” —Bronwen Dickey (@BronwenDickey)
Ever feel like a garden gnome without a garden? That’s why I started this racket in 2013. This is the Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where I talk to badass writers, filmmakers, and producers about the art and craft of telling true stories.
Today’s guest returns for her third time. It’s Bronwen Dickey, author of Pit Bull: The Battle Over an American Icon. She is LITerally, my best friend even though we’ve never met in person. She was so sweet. She asked about my baseball book as soon as she came on the phone and indulged me for almost seven minutes. So naturally I cut it.
Continue reading “Episode 137—Bozos on the Same Bus with Bronwen and Brendan”
By Brendan O’Meara
Tweetables by Bronwen Dickey (@BronwenDickey)
“To be able to see something you put so much time into have a life outside your head is amazing and to connect with readers…”
On trolls: “The way a culture corrects itself is when people refuse to be cowed by that bullshit.”
On when research is over: “As Susan Orlean says, ‘You meet yourself coming the other way.'”
“I’m very drawn to upending stereotypes or going into a community of people that the public may think it knows.”
“Getting into those conflicts is where stories happen.”
“Perfectionism will truly kill you.”
“Everything that I have ever written, I can’t read.”
“The world will absolutely keep spinning on its axis if I write a story that fucking blows.”
“Every project feels like you’re at the bottom of Everest.”
Bronwen Dickey, author of Pit Bull: Battle Over an American Icon, returns to The #CNF Podcast and we had a lot of fun talking about troll culture, how to know when the research is done, why she finds herself at the center of these polarizing conflicts, and how perfectionism kills.
Be sure to check out our earlier episode from 2016 where she was equally illuminating and charming.
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“There are all kinds of people who can easily out-write me, but there are very few who can outwork me.”—Bronwen Dickey.
“Henry Rollins said ‘Music is made by the people music saved,’ and I think stories are written by the people stories saved in the same way. And stories saved me from loneliness and boredom.”—Bronwen Dickey
It’s been a long time between episodes, but here’s a good one with author/journalist Bronwen Dickey.
We talk about her new book Pit Bull: The Battle Over an American Icon, which will hit book shelves on May 8. The book isn’t what you think it’s about, and we dive into that and many, many other things.
Enjoy!
Books Mentioned
The Brothers Karamazov
Riverside Shakespeare
Slouching Toward Bethlehem
The Collected Essays of Annie Dillard
Dispatches
Breath
The Fire Next Time
The Undertaking