Historical and Cultural Connections – Modernism and Social Context

Have you ever read a literary magazine? In addition to publishing poetry and stories, literary magazines often feature interviews with authors. Rather than presenting a summary or narrative of the conversation between the interviewer and the author, the article will present the actual "script" of the conversation so that the readers can experience the discussion as if they were sitting right beside the interviewer in the same room. The questions and answers are preceded by a brief introduction of the author and his or her work. The introduction is also an opportunity to convince the reader why an interview with the author would be worth reading. What makes the author's work so appealing or relevant? Without giving away too much, what information does the reader learn from the interview that he or she otherwise would not have known by reading the literary piece alone?

For this topic assignment, imagine that you have been hired to interview the author of your selected novel (either Zora Neale Hurston or John Steinbeck). Your interview will be published in the prestigious magazine The Modernism Monthly. Based on the opening chapters of the novel as well as what you have learned in this topic about Modernism, compose an interview article to be published in the periodical. Your interview composition should include a brief introduction of the author and his or her work that generates interest in the interview and novel in a paragraph of three to five sentences. Then, present the "script" of the conversation by presenting your name or initials before each question and the author's name or initials before each response. Not all of your questions have to be "pre-planned." In other words, if the author makes an interesting or surprising comment, you can follow up with a question on the spot to further elaborate on the author's point. This might look like something below:

AB: What was your inspiration for the novel?
JS: Actually, the idea first came to me in a dream.
AB: Oh? What happened in the dream?
JS: I dreamt I was traveling with my cousin, and I felt very protective of him.

Your interview should contain a minimum of ten questions. You are free to ask the author about his or her life, the selected novel, other works by the author, or historical events that were occurring during the time that the novel was written. However, your interview must discuss at least two elements of Modernism that are apparent in the opening chapters of the novel that you have read. It is okay that you have not read the entire novel yet; in fact, you do not want to give away the ending to your readers you will want to read the book. There will still be plenty of elements of Modernism within the opening chapters thus covered. While you have some creative license in your author's responses, you should avoid writing anything that is contrary to the author's actual life or the Modernism movement. For example, you would not say that John Steinbeck grew up in France when there is clear evidence that he grew up in California or that Zora Neale Hurston believed in writing about traditional subjects in direct conflict with Modernism. You may need to use resources outside of this course to complete this assignment. If so, please submit a Works Cited document. If you need assistance, visit the Developmental Module for information on citing resources. Before you begin, review the Modernism Monthly Interview Checklist to make sure that you include all of the items required for full credit.

Once you have completed your Modernism Monthly interview, please submit your work to the dropbox.