Visions and Voices

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Interviewer Cott (The Search for Omm Sety, etc.) makes himself familiar with his subjects, then goes deep inside their minds. In one of the 10 conversations here, Bob Dylan explains why he believes Jesus had to die after taking on the bad karma of the people he healed. Sam Shepard tells Cott why it's easier to go crazy than it is to stay sane. Federico Fellini asserts that the modern storyteller must blend the roles of trickster, prophet and magician. The dialogues are linked only to the extent that they mirror Cott's own interests and preoccupations. Yet, because he is so attuned to each of his subjects, he lifts the art of interviewing to a new dimension. In one of the strongest pieces, poet Carolyn Forche gives a firsthand account of torture in El Salvador. Also spotlighted are Peter Brook, George Balanchine, Pierre Boulez, Marie-Louise von Franz, Oliver Sacks and rabbi Lawrence Kushner, an authority on Jewish mysticism. (October)

Library Journal

These interviews by the author of Forever Young ( LJ 2/1/78) feature Peter Brook, Federico Fellini, George Balanchine, Pierre Boulez, Sam Shepard, Bob Dylan, and other creators. Most memorable are the conversations with the talented poet Carolyn Forche, who speaks movingly of her experiences in El Salvador, and with the brilliant neurologist Dr. Oliver Sacks ( The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat , LJ 2/15/86), who is convinced that personal narratives are essential to mental health. The selection of artists may appeal to general readers, but the interviews lack a unifying theme and are often abstract talks between intellectuals rather than windows on the creative process. Bettina Drew, City Coll. of New York, CUNY