An Interview with Carolyn Forché in the New York Times

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On September 13th, 2026, an interview with Carolyn Forché was published in the New York Times.

From “Carolyn Forché Once Got the O.E.D. for Valentine’s Day”

What kind of reader were you as a child?

In the time I had to myself, as the eldest of seven, I lived in books and on figure skates. My favorite book was “A Girl of the Limberlost,” by Gene Stratton-Porter. In school, we read abridged versions of Shakespeare, Milton, Chaucer, with all the naughty bits taken out. We were only allowed to read books that had the imprimatur of the church. In the library, I would sometimes try to find those books, unabridged.

What’s the last great book you read?

“One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This,” by Omar El Akkad.

Can a great book be badly written? What other criteria can overcome bad prose?

If it is badly written, it can nevertheless be instructive, amusing, even engrossing, but never great. A book can overcome its bad prose through weight and thickness, so it can be used as a doorstop or as a place to hide money.

Continue reading an interview with Carolyn Forché in the New York Times.