Avoiding “the stench of the ego”: An Interview with Andre Dubus III

Abstract

Abstract This interview with Andre Dubus III, award-winning novelist and essayist, took place in Newburyport, MA, on July 11, 2011, only a few months after the publication of his memoir, Townie. The interviewer is the authorized biographer of Andre Dubus, the critically acclaimed short-story writer and Andre III's father. Dubus discusses the writing process, his literary influences, and the struggles of writing memoir. He is frank in regards to the determination required to face his past, troubled as it was due to his father's absence. This particular discussion is most noteworthy for his realization, which took place during the interview, that memoir, not fiction, was the only genre that he could use to tell his life story with authenticity and integrity.