SOURCE: Dybek, Stuart, with Mike Nickel and Adrian Smith. “An Interview with Stuart Dybek.” Chicago Review 43, no. 1 (winter 1997): 87-101.

In the following interview, Dybek discusses the perception of him being a Chicago writer, the role of childhood in his stories, and influences on his work.

The following interview was conducted as part of the University of Memphis's ongoing River City Writers Series; the conversation took place March 7, 1995, in Memphis. Stuart Dybek's books include two collections of short stories, Childhood and Other Neighborhoods (Viking, 1980), and Coast of Chicago (Knopf, 1990), as well as a work of poetry, Brass Knuckles (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1979). A recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the Academy of Arts and Letters, Dybek's writing may be found in The New Yorker, and The Best American Short Stories of 1995.

[Nickel]: I thought we'd start by talking about the Chicago style with which you're often identified. Let's...