Marilynne Robinson, the Pulitzer Prize winning author of Gilead and Home, spoke about the craft of writing and her works in an interview and reading style discussion hosted by The Writers Garret on September 20. That The Writers Garret, in partnership with the Spiritual Arts Series of University Park United Methodist Church, could bring Ms. Robinson, an amazing writer and intellect, to Dallas to speak before a small group of people, was an amazing opportunity for those of us who took advantage. Ms. Robinson is not only a brilliant writer, but also a charming woman with a delightful self-aware humor that gave the discussion an at-home in-your-living-room feel.

In talking about the acclaim of her most recent novel, Home, Ms. Robinson said her main feeling was one of gratitude, particularly gratifying was the cross-denominational acclaim of a novel steeped in Protestant theology. It is surprising that stories saturated in theology should find such a large audience, but the appeal of her writing is that she writes in earnest, without the self aware irony that pervades so many modern novels. She spoke of the beauty of everyday life, the life lived in the mundane details that speaks to every reader and draws attention to the beauty of life, “every life is as charged with meaning, as every other life”.

Having only written three novels, all of which have received high praise and already rank in the list of classic American literature, one wonders how her stories are born. Robinson spoke about the genesis of her stories, which begin with what she described as a voice that writes the story for her, unfolding in a process that at times surprises even her. She writes all her fiction in a spiral notebook curled up under a cover, reinforcing the idea that her characters are more than names on a page, but friends that she lives with as the story is created. Her characters are intellects, serious people who spend time reading and debating, a reflection of her own vigorous intellectual life, which includes serious study of both theology and science. Her advice to writers: find your own voice and preoccupations.

Of most interest to me is the sense of place a recurring theme in her novels. In her first novel, Housekeeping, sisters Ruth and Lucille are abandoned by their mother and spend their lives searching for a center, a connection to a place. In Gilead and Home, friends Reverend Ames and Boughton are connected to their small town. But Boughton’s two children, Gloria and Jack, still seeking a connection, return home and yet remain displaced. A native northeasterner, Ms. Robinson spoke about making her own connection to Iowa where she now lives and how she formed a relationship with her location through learning the history of her place and a developed love for Iowa’s prairie landscape. Dallas transplants, take note. Dropped here in the prairie, perhaps a way to connect ourselves to Dallas is to learn Dallas’ storied history and to learn to appreciate and love the beauty of both Dallas’ natural and created landscape. Ms. Robinson, having lived in New England and in the Northwest, said she had to reeducate herself to be a Midwesterner. A transplant myself, I suppose so can I.