Please tell me something about Before Familiar Woods . What would you like the reader to know about this book ?
Before Familiar Woods takes place in a small town in Vermont and grapples with the heroin epidemic , toxic masculinity , individualism , and loss .
“ REFLECTION ” BY CONNER JACKSON
The book has been described by reviewers as “ dark ,” “ gritty ,” and even “ brutal ,” and I suppose all of that is true . But for me , the book is unquestionably a hopeful book . I ’ m uninterested in writing about brutality for the sake of brutality . I ’ m interested in writing about brutality because I ’ m interested in how kindness and hope can exist in a brutal world — how much stronger these traits are among people who have suffered .
I understand you have moved to Spokane from New England . How does geography inform your work ? Are you exploring new territory in your writing as well as in community ?
Place always comes first . I agree wholeheartedly with what Annie Proulx said : “ If you get the landscape right , the characters will step out of it .”
We are all shaped by our landscape . I don ’ t think some people like to admit it because it makes them feel small and maybe even inconsequential . But there is beauty and peace in understanding our connection with the natural world .
On a more personal note , being born and raised in New England has probably equipped me with a certain degree of skepticism , brevity , and stick-to-itiveness than I might not otherwise have . Of course , New England doesn ’ t have a monopoly on these traits . My wife , a professor at Gonzaga University , was born and raised in Spokane and she has stick-to-itiveness in spades .
Would you describe your trajectory as a writer please ? Has the development of this book , Before Familiar Woods , changed your focus ? What are you working on now ?
I wrote short stories and poems before writing a novel and I ’ d like to return to those forms someday . However , I ’ m working on another novel at the moment . Superstition prevents me from saying too much about it , but while doing research for Before Familiar Woods , I learned that the suicide rate among farmers is nearly twice that of veterans . This statistic really stuck with me and ultimately served as a spark for the novel in progress .
I don ’ t know that Before Familiar Woods has changed my focus as a writer , but I like the idea of pushing myself beyond my comfort zone . As a consequence , I ’ m playing with a new structure and some new themes in the current novel . John Irving once said to “ write what you ’ re scared to write .” I think that ’ s good advice .
COMING UP JANUARY 1 , 2021
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