Our Life and Times

Beyond Segregation

May 01, 2000

American literary critic Daphne Merkin moderates a conversation with novelist, jazz critic, and columnist Stanley Crouch about his new novel, Don’t the Moon Look Lonesome (2000). Don’t the Moon Look Lonesome is about a fictional white jazz singer’s relationship with an up-and-coming black saxophonist. Crouch discusses how he began writing fiction, his experience writing short stories, the inspiration for his novel, and responding to reviews. He claims that the French novelist Honoré de Balzac had particular influence on his writing, specifically his description and characterization of New York City (the primary setting of the book). Crouch also comments on the state of race relations and politics in the United States. The discussion is followed with questions from the audience.

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