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JAMES CAÑÓN is the author of “Tales
from the Town of Widows” (to be published by Harper Collins on January 2,
2007).
Cañón's first novel will be
published in Dutch by Meulenhoff (November 1st, 2006), and it's also being
translated into French, Hebrew, Italian, Korean, and Spanish.
JAMES CAÑÓN was born and raised in Colombia. After majoring in Advertising from
the Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano in Bogotá, he moved to New York to learn
English. He began his writing career while taking a grammar class at NYU. Since
then, he's written a number of short stories and a novel. His English short
fiction has been published in “Frontiers Magazine”, and in the anthologies
“Bésame Mucho”, (Painted Leaf Press), and “Virgins, Guerrillas & Locas”,
(Cleis Press). An excerpt of his first novel, “Tales from the Town of Widows”,
appeared in “Chautauqua Literary Journal”. A graduate of the creative writing
program at Columbia University, James was awarded the Henfield Prize for
Excellence in fiction, and was a finalist in the inaugural cycle of the
International Rolex Mentor & Protégé Arts Initiative. He is currently at
work on his second novel.
Where were you born and raised?
I was born and raised in
Colombia. I moved to New York - to learn English - when I was 25, and I've been
here since.
What was it that first got you into writing and when did you start writing?
I started writing as a
teenager for my high school newspaper. I wrote mostly poetry, but also a few
short stories. Back then I wasn't really encouraged to write, so I stopped. I
didn't start writing again until I was 28, only this time it was in English,
and it was my career.
Which writers have influenced you the most?
Willa Cather, Machado de
Assis, Gabriel García Márquez and Sherwood Anderson.
Where do you stand on the nature v. nurture debate? Were you born a writer, or
were there factors in your environment that enabled you to become a writer?
I believe that within everyone
lies a creative spirit that, when allowed, manifests itself in beautiful and
fantastic ways. I don't come from a literary family - my brothers and I are the
first ones to go to college - but I had an amazing childhood, surrounded by highly imaginative
people. That sort of
environment, together with the people that came into my life later on, played a
major role in my becoming a writer.
There are a lot of courses teaching creative writing nowadays, but do you think
that good writing can be taught?
I think that some elements of
writing can be taught, and that writing can be improved, but the talent has to
be there, hidden or in full view.
Have you entered writing competitions? If so, have you won any prizes?
I used to enter competitions,
not any more. I think it's disgraceful that a writer has to pay $20 - sometimes
more - to enter a short story contest. I, however, was awarded the Henfield
Prize for Excellence in fiction, and was a finalist in the inaugural cycle of
the International Rolex Mentor & Protégé Arts Initiative, in which Toni Morrison
was the judge. Neither of those recognitions cost me a cent.
What kind of things do you write?
I write about the human
condition; about prejudice, discrimination and intolerance; but also about
societies where everyone is given a fresh chance.
What are you working on now?
I'm working on a novel set
both in Colombia and New York.
What is your writing day like?
I don't have a set pattern,
though I write best in the morning, usually for three or four hours. After that
I read or watch a movie, sometimes I even socialize.
Where would you like to be in 10 years time?
I'd love to have an apartment
in New York and a beach house along the Mediterranean coast in Spain, and split
my time between the two.
What's the most exciting thing about writing for you?
To me, writing is like a time
machine: it takes me to wherever I want to go, and I can stay there for as long
as I want.
What's the most frustrating thing about writing for you?
In my opinion, it is the
business part of writing that's frustrating and wearing.
What's the best piece of feedback that you've had from your audience?
Once, after a reading I gave,
a woman told me she'd forgotten where she was. She said she felt transported to
the town I described, and that she could even smell it.
Do you write for a particular audience, or is your first priority to satisfy
your own creativity?
I always hope that my writing
resonates with someone out there, but I never write for anyone but myself. If I
like what I wrote, then it's good and I'm pleased.
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Do you have a homepage? If so, what's the URL?
www.jamescanon.com
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