An Interview with Cathy Curtis

I am the author of four previous biographies, of artists Grace Hartigan, Elaine de Kooning, and Nell Blaine (all published by Oxford University Press) and writer Elizabeth Hardwick (published by WW Norton). I’m a past president of Biographers International Organization (BIO) and have been involved with it for many years. Now I work with biographer members to help them write proposals (for agents and editors), improve their interviewing skills, and organize and refine their manuscripts.

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Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

My last agent simplified the earlier, more explanatory title to Fearless. That was excellent advice, since it jumps out so strongly on the cover.

How did it feel when you first saw your book cover? Or when you first held your book in your hands?

I had a lot of back-and-forth with the designer. I chose and paid for the rights to use the photograph of Edna, but I was initially unhappy with the way the title was laid out. It was my idea to set it flush-right rather than conventionally centered, creating a more ‘fearless’ effect. I also hounded the designer to find the exact shade of green on the Irish flag. He was very accommodating, and I appreciated being able to keep asking for corrections until I was satisfied – something traditional publishers normally do not let writers do.

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

I’ve been writing since I was a small child; it’s the only activity that comes naturally to me, other than reading. I was taught to read at home, before I attended school. Today, I read as many as a dozen books a month, mainly literary fiction and biography. It is extremely important for writers to have a grounding in serious literature. Edna O’Brien came from a household with no books other than a missal and a horse-breeding manual, but she spent her adult life catching up with the great twentieth-century works of fiction and poetry.

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

After graduate school, toiling at a miscellany of jobs, I spent my nights writing freelance art and dance criticism and a this-is-my-life column for a small local newspaper, which eventually led to a position as a staff writer at the Los Angeles Times. I have also worked as a copywriter for non-profit and corporate clients. Something I learned over the years is that no experience is wasted on a writer. The worst job is likely to yield some useful insights into people’s behavior.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?

I hope that readers will seek out Edna O’Brien’s novels and short stories, and take the time to appreciate their resonance and range.

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