John Updike, 1932-2009

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In memory of the late John Updike, who died today of lung cancer at age 76, here is a wonderful interview Updike granted Scene contributor Maria Browning on the occasion of his visit to Nashville in 2006. It's a witty, wide-ranging talk in which the National Book Award-winning author and critic discusses the future of books in the Internet age, changes in sexual mores, the erosion of authorship under the tidal wave of digital content, and his most lasting creation, Rabbit Angstrom, among many other topics. This one quote has stayed with me:

A writer isn't basically a thinker. He's more a singer. He's an observer, but more than that, he's somebody who is happy enough to be here that he wants to talk about it.
The article's title could serve as an epitaph: "The Last of His Kind?"

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