Lauren Groff's "Brawler"

About this episode

Eric Newman speaks with Lauren Groff about her latest story collection, 'Brawler,' exploring the balance of compassion and hatred in writing.

Eric Newman speaks with Lauren Groff about her latest story collection, "Brawler," an intimate and tender exploration of the all-too-human struggle to balance a life between compassion and hatred, love and vengeance. Groff shares her approach to writing stories, from the inception of a gossamer idea or mood through to the editorial grunt work of arranging and sharpening characters and sentences, all while trying to let the work emerge organically. Groff also discusses Flannery O'Connor, the possibility of redemption, the importance of avoiding a moral judgment on your characters, and how she tries to balance the lightness and darkness of life on the page.

People in this episode

Host: Eric Newman

Guest: Lauren Groff

Topics covered

• story collection
• writing process
• redemption
• character development
• light and darkness

Keywords

• Lauren Groff
• Brawler
• writing
• Flannery O'Connor
• redemption
• characters
• storytelling

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Brawler

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