Helen Simpson by K. J. Orr

Helen Simpson by K. J. Orr

Helen Simpson by K. J. Orr
Short Fiction in Theory and Practice, Vol 1, Issue 1, March 2011 (ISSN 20430701)


EXCERPT

SFTP: When did you start writing stories?

HS: At university.  I entered a short story competition in Isis.  That’s how I heard about Angela Carter.  Brian Aldiss was judging, and he said something like, This reminds me of the young Angela Carter, and I thought, Who’s Angela Carter?  Then I read her and admired her, particularly her stories.  Much later, once I’d come to London, I went to a reading she did in Strawberry Hill and I thought she was wonderful.  I collared her in the car park and said, Would you like a lift?  I’d just passed my driving test, so all the way back I was saying, What do you think of the short story?  What do you think of Katherine Mansfield?  And she was saying things like, Look out! That’s a red light!….”


To read the full interview, please click here.

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