Spinning the Suffering

Ted is joined by Patrick Parr, the author of two nonfiction books: The Seminarian: Martin Luther King Jr. Comes of Age and One Week in America: The 1968 Notre Dame Literary Festival and a Changing Nation. Patrick’s work has appeared in newspapers and magazines around the world, and he currently writes a history column for Japan Today about historical figures visiting Japan for the first time. Patrick’s work in progress is a novel about a 19th-century Native American man who becomes one of the first Americans to enter Japan when that country still prohibited almost all forms of foreign contact. And while fiction is a departure from much of Patrick’s published work, he shared with Ted that this is a novel that’s been with him for a long time, so much so that he’s started writing it 11 different times. They talked about why Patrick can’t let go of this story specifically or the idea of writing novels generally despite all his success in nonfiction and the frustration that fiction has brought him. His candor and sense of humor in discussing these challenges made for a conversation that was equal parts hilarious, sobering, and affirming to any of us who spend time putting pen to paper (or the digital equivalent).Find Patrick Online:Website: patrickparr.com