Marginal Notes: Iris Murdoch

The Art of Fiction interview

Whenever I’m asked which writers I admire most, Iris Murdoch is always high on the list. A college creative writing professor decided to use her annual classroom budget to purchase a few books for each of her workshop students—a gesture towards the individuality of each writer. She wanted us to read the kind of stuff we wanted to write. At the time I was living on a scholarship stipend and free books that didn’t come from the library were a rare treasure.