Boulevard Craft Interview: Nathan Englander

Nathan Englander and I talked by phone one morning early in the new year. Recently arrived at home in New York City, he was traveling to Paris the next morning to teach. I’d interviewed Nathan once before, and both times his élan and enthusiasm stayed with me as much as the content of our conversations. He answers questions as well as gives a running meta-commentary on the back-and-forth itself, sustaining both adroitly while endearing anyone within earshot. As an interviewer, you simply have to trust your recorder to catch it all. He told me when he goes on public radio his people plead with him to speak one idea at a time slowly and softly. He’d prefer, he said, to open thirty threads all at the same time. About half an hour into this interview he said, “I’m just glad in our second conversation we’ve gotten off the first question. I’m really in shape here. I’m succinct.”