2016-04

David Gates is a novelist, musician, journalist and teacher. His debut, Jernigan (1991), was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and was shortlisted for the National Book Award.

As a taster for our next guest, the fine American novelist David Gates, who talks about his classic debut, Jernigan, his new story collection, A Hand Reached Down to Guide Me, and throws in a little analysis of the architectural politics of Donald Trump for free.

Harry Parker begins the third and final part of his conversation with This Writing Life by considering the emotional effects of his tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

The second part of our chat with Harry Parker about his debut novel Anatomy of a Soldier begins with a cheerful discussion of decay and destruction of both objects or people.