I suppose I'm interested in sorrow, which is very different from depression or despair. Sorrow is continuous with the world; it allows for creativity. Aleksandar Hemon continuouscreativitydepression Change image and share on social
To me there's no difference between a book of stories and a novel - they're just slightly different shapes. Aleksandar Hemon bookdifferenceshape Change image and share on social
The trouble with calling a book a novel, well, it's not like I'm writing the same book all the time, but there is a continuity of my interests, so when I start writing a book, if I call it 'a novel,' it separates it from other books. Aleksandar Hemon bookcallcontinuity share on social
I read everything I could find in English - Twain, Henry James, Hemingway, really everything. And then after a while I started writing shorter pieces in English, and one of them got published in a literary magazine and that's how it got started. After that, graduate school didn't seem very important. Aleksandar Hemon englishfindgraduate share on social
For people who are displaced, you can reconstruct the story of your life from the objects you have access to, but if you don't have the objects then there are holes in your life. This is why people in Bosnia - if anyone was running back into a burning house, it was to salvage photos. Aleksandar Hemon accessbackbosnia share on social
I've been a Nick Cave fan since the early '80s when he was part of The Birthday Party thing singing Australian self-destructive rock band and I've always followed his work and loved it. Aleksandar Hemon 80saustralianband Change image and share on social
I like to blur the line between fact and fiction, but not to condescend to the reader by enmeshing her/him into some sort of a postmodern coop. Aleksandar Hemon blurcondescendcoop Change image and share on social
When I found myself in the U.S., and the war was at full swing in Bosnia, I read for survival - it was a means of thought resuscitation. Aleksandar Hemon bosniafindfull Change image and share on social
I long for, not a writer's retreat - I can write in any situation - but a reader's retreat. Aleksandar Hemon longreaderretreat Change image and share on social
I'll take any life in which I can make choices and have agency, and America is not a bad place for all that. Aleksandar Hemon agencyamericabad Change image and share on social