December 25, 2019

Talking with “Green-Eyed Poet” and Short Story Author, Tess Gallagher

Tess Gallagher is an American poet, essayist, and short story writer. Her many honors include a fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts award, and Maxine Cushing Gray Foundation Award. In addition to authoring numerous collections of poems and short stories, and teaching writing at Syracuse University for 10 years, Tess consulted with Robert Altman on the Oscar-nominated film Short Cuts, based on the stories of her late husband, Raymond Carver, as well as with director Alejandro González Iñárritu on the Academy-Award winning film Birdman, starring Michael Keaton and Edward Norton.

What you will learn:

  • How she made her way from the small logging town of Port Angeles, Washington to Seattle in the 1960s, and then to Syracase to teach poetry.
  • What drew her to poetry and short stories as a form of artistic expression.
  • How growing up in a small logging town shaped her approach to storytelling.
  • How she met iconic painter Alfredo Arrequín in the 1960s in Seattle and how that friendship blossomed and flourished for decades.
  • Why she changed her first name from Teresa to Tess.
  • Why horses appear in her poetry and short stories.
  • How she met iconic short story writer Ray Carver.
  • How Tess and Ray collaborated during the writing process.
  • How she met film director Robert Altman and consulted with him on the Oscar-nominated, Short Cuts, which was based on a Carver short story.
  • How she met film director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu and consulted with him on the Oscar-winning film Birdman, which was based on a Ray Carver story.
  • Why she lives in Ireland part of the year, and what literary and artistic connections she has made there.

Resources About Tess Gallagher:

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