Joyce Carol Oates Interview (page: 7 / 9) National Book Award	Print Interview

Is it possible that you've worked out some of your fear through your writing?

Joyce Carol Oates: It's possible I've worked out some of my fears through my writing. That's why some people identify with it. There's a web page devoted to my work. I have nothing to do with it, but I was looking at it, and the discussion group focused on how these readers thought that I could inhabit other characters very convincingly and that I could write about states of violence and anxiety and fear and terror. They thought that was very realistic. So it's possible that I am doing that.

In a sense, I may not consciously know what I'm doing. I feel that I'm telling a story. I'm a kind of medium by which something is transmitted. I choose my language very carefully, and I'm a formalist. Something that's out there may be considered a reality, but it's inchoate and unorganized. Bricks and mortar and stone have no voice. A writer or an artists brings to these materials some sort of voice and then becomes obedient. And then it becomes a work of art. It could be a movie. It could be some music or a novel. People read that, or they see the movie, and they respond emotionally, even though the person who made the film may have been pretty cold and calculating. Yet there's a reality, and it's legitimate. Filmmaking, particularly, is a medium of such collaboration and technique. So many people go into it, and then someone edits it.

What do you see as your next challenge?

Joyce Carol Oates: That's hard to answer because I'm working on a novel at the moment. Each novel is a challenge.

What does the American dream mean to you?

Joyce Carol Oates: The American dream to me is very metaphorical. I think of it in historical terms, going back to the Puritans.

To the Puritans who came from England, America was a land of complete newness. And they were going to establish God's colony in the wilderness. And so the dream of the America was a religious dream, basically. America is a very religious nation. Not a mono-religious nation because there are many different strands of belief, but there's something about this nation that inspires people, or perhaps draws people, who are strongly idealistic. And even though they may be multimillionaires, ultimately, and they may be capitalists and very pragmatic and materialist in their methods, yet they seem to be stimulated by idealism. And they seem to carry with them these seeds of religion.
[ Video ] Low High    [ Audio ] Quicktime	[ Key to Success ] The American Dream

In the major industrialized nations of the world, particularly the European nations, it's most unusual to have a high degree of religious participation among the citizens. The United States is very different from European nations. Their civilization is older than ours, but it's also been contaminated by history. We had the Civil War, which was very terrible, but it's not quite like World War I and World War II and the devastation of wars in Europe in such a small space.

We seem to be different in that we still have this capacity for belief and idealism, but at the same time, we're very pragmatic. We're a very physical nation. We have crime rates that are unbelievable to the civilized nations of Europe. Everyone in this country could have a gun. There are so many firearms in this country. This is astonishing, let's say, to Sweden or to England. They can't believe we're living in something like the Wild West.

All these things go together in a strange way. So the American dream is a multi-metaphor made up of distinct regions. Many regions of this country are almost like different countries. Even in one state, northern and southern California are like two separate countries. In Europe, they would be two countries perhaps. So the American dream is very diverse and, in a way, mysterious. Perhaps it will come to its fruition in the 21st century.

Do you recognize that characteristic American idealism in yourself?

Joyce Carol Oates: Well, I'm not a very pragmatic or materialist person, so I guess I'm idealistic. I'm very American in the sense of being an explorer. America is filled with people who are interested in exploring landscapes, either external or internal. A westward nation of explorers.

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