Episode 30: "So What?"

Episode 30: "So What?"

From Don DeLillo Should Win the Nobel Prize by Jeffrey Severs & Michael Streit

October 16, 2025 · 1h 15m · Episode 30

About this episode

The episode discusses Don DeLillo's career and the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction, reflecting on his literary techniques and influences.

In Episode 30, DDSWTNP once again use the occasion of the Nobel Prize (which on October 9, 2025, was awarded to Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai) to talk about a prize Don DeLillo did win: the 2013 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction. We dig into the award presentation and an interview he gave then about his whole career, from how he begins his novels and finds their structures, to the reading he did on a park bench in the 1950s, the influence advertising work had on his writing, and the inspiration he has found in the artistry of jazz and film. This episode culminates on the title question, “So what?”, which is the revealing remark DeLillo remembers making upon seeing Americana in published form – and a key, we think, to understanding the humility, ambition, and restless work ethic that has driven his work over the five decades since. For the reader new to DeLillo, this interview and episode offer a good overview of his major concerns and literary techniques. And for readers at any stage with DeLillo’s fiction, this one also goes well with our previous two Nobel episodes, 3 and 17, where we discuss his “The Artist Naked in a Cage” and “A History of the Writer…

People in this episode

Hosts: Jeffrey Severs, Michael Streit

Topics covered

  • Nobel Prize
  • Don DeLillo
  • Library of Congress Prize
  • literary techniques
  • influence of jazz and film
  • career overview

Keywords

  • Don DeLillo
  • Nobel Prize
  • Library of Congress Prize
  • literary techniques
  • influence of jazz
  • Americana

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Library of Congress, Washington Post

Books & works: Americana, The Artist Naked in a Cage, A History of the Writer Alone in a Room

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