Philip Roth in Esquire
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21 September 2010
There’s a feature on Philip Roth in the current issue of Esquire. I don’t think it’s online yet. At 77, Roth has a new book out, his 31st.
About the writing life, he says: “The ordeal is part of the commitment.” And: “Don’t judge it. Just write it. It’s not for you to judge it.” I like this bit, about Portnoy’s Complaint:
I let it rip. I had written three books prior that were all careful in a way. Each was different from the other, but they didn’t let it rip, and now was my chance. It was written at the tail end of the sixties, so all that was happening around one, and I was living in New York at the time, so theatrics around me gave me confidence.
