of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature on 10 October 2013. The interviewer
is Nobelprize.org’s Adam Smith.
[Adam Smith] Hello, Adam Smith.
[Alice Munro] Hello Adam!
[AS] Hello, this is Alice Munro?
[AM] Yes, this is Alice Munro. I just wanted to thank you, very much.
This is quite a wonderful thing for me. It’s a wonderful thing for the short
story.
[AS] It is indeed, and may we congratulate you in tum. It’s a wonderful
day.
[AM] Thank you very, very much.
[AS] How did you hear the news?
[AM] Um, let me see, I was wandering around this moming, early.
How did I hear it first? [Said to
her daughter, Jenny, in the room with her]
... Oh, the press called me.
[AS] And what was your first reaction? Do you remember?
[AM] Unbelief. [Laughs] I really couldn’t believe it, I was so happy,
and I haven’t gotten over the delight yet.
[AS] You’ve produced an enormous body of work over four decades
[AM] Well I have, yes. But, you know, because I work generally in
the short story form, this is a special thing I think to get this recognition.
[AS] Yes indeed, yes indeed. Have you been basically the same
sort of
writer from the beginning to the end? Have you changed, do you think?
[AM] Well you know as far as I can tell, I have not changed very
much. But someone else could answer that question better I think.
[AS] And the award will bring a great new readership to your work ...
[AM] Well
I would hope so, and I hope this would happen not just for
me but for the short story in general. Because it’s often sort of bmshed off,
you know, as something that people do before they write their first novel.
And I would like it to come to the fore, without any strings attached, so
that there doesn’t have to be a novel.
[ AS ] And for tho se who don ’ t know your work, would y ou recommend
a starting point?
[AM] Oh goodness! I don’t know, I can’t ... You always think that
your latest work is your best, at least I do. So I would want them to start
with the latest book.
105
[AS] So they should start with Dear Life should they?
[AM] Well, in a way, yes, but then I hope they would go back and
read the others as well.
[AS] And of course everybody is talking about the fact that you
announced earlier this year that you were going to stop writing, and
saying “Maybe this will encourage her to start again”.
[AM] [Laughs] Well you know I’ve been doing it for so many years.
I’ve been writing and publishing, I think, since I was about twenty - just
now and then I would get something published you know - but that’s a
long time to be working and I thought maybe it’s time to take it easy. But
this may change my mind. [Laughter]
[AS] That’s an exciting statement! That’s going to have everybody
buzzing.
[Both laugh]
[AS] How splendid! So, I know that you must be tired after speaking
to so many people so we would like very much to talk to you perhaps on
another occasion ...
[AM] That would be great, actually, because I am a little bit tired and
woozy now and God knows what I might say!
[AS] [Laughs] OK, well w e’ll wait until this quiet down a bit, and
then ...
[AM] OK.
[AS] It has been a great pleasure to speak to you, thank you so very
much indeed.
[AM] Thank you, goodbye.
[AS] Bye, bye.
4. Let students listen to the tape again. A sk them to make notes
of the answers of Alice Munro to the questions given by the
interviewer. They may refer to Ex. 3 for the list of questions. Let
them share it in pairs. Below the full version of the question-
answer details are available. Check students’ note taking.
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