An Interview with David Linebarger

After leaving a career in music (classical guitar) due to injury, David Linebarger earned a Ph.D. in English at UC Davis before becoming a Professor of Humanities at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. His publications include scholarly essays on Wallace Stevens and Modern Music, poems in over thirty journals, and two small collections of poetry: War Stories (Pudding House Publications) and Bed of Light (Finishing Line Press). A nationally ranked tennis player in his age group, his most recent book is Tennis Players as Works of Art, which features short writings on art and tennis alongside artwork from forty-five artists. His current project is a book on composers and their music.

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

The book cover was beautiful. It consisted of eleven different artworks from eleven of the forty-five artists that were featured in the book. The designer of the cover really helped guide me through this process to make such a beautiful cover a reality.

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

Reading literature was my substitution for losing my musical career. Writing became a substitution, as well, for no longer being able to play music. I do not have a particular writer that has influenced me. They all have. I tend to love writing that is musical, lyrical. I am most influenced by poetry, music, and the visual arts in all my writing.

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

My first career was as a classical guitarist, but I injured my hand at twenty-one years old. I spent three years trying to rehabilitate the hand I had injured, but I finally had to leave music. It was a very difficult period of my life.

What new writing projects are you currently working on? Or, other projects that are not writing?

Working on a book on the great composers and their music. I am also working with artists to have a piece of art with each short piece I write. Attempting to make each short writing informational, creative, musical, clear, and different from any past writing in at least one or two ways.

How was working with Atmosphere Press? What would you tell other writers who want to publish?

I liked how thorough the writing/editing/revising process was with Atmosphere Press. They guided me carefully through the many steps of putting together the best possible manuscript prior to publication. Felt like I had expert, supportive help through every step in the process.

Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.