Andrew Krivak on the Inheritance of Loss, Death as a Character, and Like the Appearance of Horses

“Krivak is a novelist, poet, and memoirist whose work has been compared to William Faulkner’s in its rich sense of place, to Wendell Berry’s in its attentiveness to natural beauty, and to Cormac McCarthy’s in its deep investigation of violence and myth. Yet all of Krivak’s writing, and especially his fiction, presents a truly singular vision.”

— Image Journal

You might remember my last conversation with Andrew Krivak on his novel, The Bear. In addition to The Bear, Andrew has written a trio of books on a family lineage, beginning with The Sojourn (a National Book Award Finalist), The Signal Flame, and Like the Appearance of Horses. It is this latest book, Like the Appearance of Horses that we zero in on today. He holds a BA from St. John’s College, Annapolis; an MFA in poetry from Columbia University; an MA in philosophy from Fordham; and a PhD in literary modernism from Rutgers. Currently, Andrew is a volunteer discussion facilitator in the New Hampshire Department of Corrections Family Connections Center, and a Visiting Lecturer in Creative Writing at Harvard. He lives with his wife and three children in Somerville, Massachusetts, and Jaffrey, New Hampshire.

In our conversation we talk about the profuse and evocative layers in Andrew’s writing, the multiplicity of the journey of hero or heroine, death as a character and and much more.

Visit Andrew Krivak at andrewkrivak.com.

Episode Show Notes

Works by Andrew Krivak

Resources & People Mentioned

  • The Bear
  • The Odyssey
  • St. John’s College
  • Confessions by St. Augustine
  • Dennis Turner
  • Galway Kinnell
  • John Fosse
  • Bill Nichols
  • Cat Stevens
  • Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd
  • Robert Alter

Drink Recommended

  • Italian Sagrantino (from Umbrio) that has been open for 3 or 4 hours

Photo pulled from andrewkrivak.com (Photo credit Sharona Jacobs)
Links to book purchases give a kickback to a local New Mexican bookstore and Contemplify