Novelist, memoirist, short story writer, and essayist Frank Conroy was director of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop for eighteen years. His first book, Stop-Time, a novelistic memoir that shaped the genre for later writers, was published to great acclaim in 1967 and has never gone out of print. Frank’s other works include a story collection, Midair; a novel, Body and Soul; a collection of essays, Dogs Bark, but the Caravan Rolls On; and a book about his longtime island home, Nantucket: Time and Tide. He was an accomplished jazz pianist and once played with the Rolling Stones. He died in Iowa City in April 2005.

Clips from Our Interview with Frank

An Audio Interview

A Writer’s Instinct Preview

Frank talked with Narrative’s senior editor Lacy Crawford in March 2004, a few months before his death. The interview, Frank’s last, can be found in print in our Library. In the audio clips here, Frank reflects on his early days in New York as a writer and jazz musician; he tells us about finding the courage to write Stop-Time and about the instinct, hard work, and lifelong habits of reading that guided his writing. He also discusses his fears about and hopes for the publishing business today.

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