A Memoir and More Truth Telling | Gavin Evans
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An interview with Gavin Evans author of Son of a Preacher Man.
In this episode, I talk with award winning London-based South African writer Gavin Evans, author of Son of Preacher Man.
While preparing for my book club discussion on James Baldwin's Go Tell It on the Mountain, I noticed the book Son of a Preacher Man lying in one of the piles on my book table. Both books tell the story of a preacher's son; one in fiction, the other in a memoir. That connection immediately sparked the idea to reach out to Gavin Evans.
In this conversation, you'll hear me ask questions that emerged from that idea. Gavin Evans answers them with generosity and depth, sharing insights about his relationships with his parents, his conversions, what makes literature "good" or "bad", what is good writing, and how Marxist ideas continue to influence thinking in our world; I even learned that Marx writes beautifully.
He also reflects on why right-wing views persist, the human need for love, and how living with his wife, Margie Orford, whose own memoir Love and Fury has just been shortlisted for the Sunday Times Non-Fiction Award, has made the present feel more present.
This conversation evolves around my belief why writing memoirs matters: they differ from fiction, yet they hold equal importance in helping us make sense of our lives and the world we currently live in.
In this episode, I talk with award winning London-based South African writer Gavin Evans, author of Son of Preacher Man.
While preparing for my book club discussion on James Baldwin's Go Tell It on the Mountain, I noticed the book Son of a Preacher Man lying in one of the piles on my book table. Both books tell the story of a preacher's son; one in fiction, the other in a memoir. That connection immediately sparked the idea to reach out to Gavin Evans.
In this conversation, you'll hear me ask questions that emerged from that idea. Gavin Evans answers them with generosity and depth, sharing insights about his relationships with his parents, his conversions, what makes literature "good" or "bad", what is good writing, and how Marxist ideas continue to influence thinking in our world; I even learned that Marx writes beautifully.
He also reflects on why right-wing views persist, the human need for love, and how living with his wife, Margie Orford, whose own memoir Love and Fury has just been shortlisted for the Sunday Times Non-Fiction Award, has made the present feel more present.
This conversation evolves around my belief why writing memoirs matters: they differ from fiction, yet they hold equal importance in helping us make sense of our lives and the world we currently live in.
