Author Interview

Q:

Are you based in Cairo? How long have you been there?

A:

I've been based in Cairo since August 2007.

Q:

You seem to relish the tightly-focused vignette or profile—a very intimate window into or snapshot of a place or person. How and why have you chosen this approach?

A:

I think compressed narratives and vignettes carry a lot of power. They bring us quickly to a place, set a scene and from there comes a life. It forces the writer to be more exacting with words; many of the narratives I read these days are too long, too slack. They lose emotional power. But if you keep it short and find the right voice and rhythm, an 800 word vignette or a 1,500 word narrative can create a palpable, evocative world that, at its best, lies between poetry and prose. I strive for this approach because, as a foreign correspondent, it is paramount to bring the reader to a place so he/she can see, hear, smell something that is thousands of miles away, yet connected to them by a shared humanity.

Q:

How long did you have to report and write the story?

A:

I spent two days reporting and one day writing.

Q:

What challenges did you face in writing the story?

A:

The challenge was bringing dignity to Alia Qotb, but not making her seem a loser in one sense, or too regal in another. By that I mean, most people have a degree of dignity, yet at the same time their life choices and mistakes define who they are. And some, of course, are further shaped by unavoidable circumstances. The hardest part of writing about people like Qotb is balancing all sides of that equation to create a fuller, more nuanced picture.

Q:

What languages did your interviewees speak? Did you use a translator?

A:

Yes, I used an Arabic translator.