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Author John Crowley is interviewed by Ed Halter in the new issue of The Believer, on newsstands now.

"Crowley’s skill at transcending genre has had its pitfalls, too, as illustrated in the publishing saga of the Ægypt cycle, his four-volume opus that navigates through both the intricate romantic affairs of an Aquarian-age cluster of upstate New Yorkers and an occult re-reading of Western history. Though the original books were slowly released over two decades by various publishing houses—some parts marketed as fantasy novels, others more as literary fiction—a complete, definitive edition of the series was finally published between 2007 and 2009 by Overlook Press."


THE BELIEVER: Your novels exist somewhere between fantasy and science fiction and naturalistic fiction. Do you have any interest in the way the term slipstream has been circulating in the last few years to describe this kind of moving among genres? Would you ever think of yourself as a slipstream writer?


JOHN CROWLEY: I think this is something for critics to determine rather than for writers to do. I mean, I just write books. If they have names for them, the names can seem more or less convincing to me. I think the difficulty with slipstream and interstitial fiction and all those kinds of terms is that they tend to be used only by people who are in one of those sub-branches of fiction. They’re used by genre writers who are interested in adopting mainstream techniques or adopting mainstream values or getting mainstream readers to read their books. You will notice that it’s mostly genre writers who even use the word mainstream. Mainstream writers don’t use the word mainstream—they don’t know there’s a mainstream and these tributaries or whatever they are.

Love & Sleep, the second volume in John Crowley's acclaimed Ægypt cycle, is now available in a new paperback edition from The Overlook Press. Finally reissued after years out of print, and rewritten to be the novel that Crowley always intended, Love & Sleep is a modern masterpiece, both extraordinary and literary. Love & Sleep will be followed in Summer 2008 by the third volume in the Ægypt cycle, Dæmonomania, and in Fall 2008 by the paperback release of book four, Endless Things.

My Personal Sports Journey

One of the things that I am proud of at the recent ALA Conference in Washington DC, besides being a presenter with a team from my library, was that I kept up with my exercise program and managed to eat sensibly. This meant getting up at 6AM to hit the gym in my hotel for 30 minutes before a full day of presentations, meetings, classes and networking. My exercise habit began several months earlier and just because I was traveling did not mean I was about to break it.

When I was younger I had the kind of metabolism that meant I could eat anything I wanted without gaining an ounce. Today if I look at a candy bar it will go straight to my hips. Sigh. And since I no longer work in Manhattan, where everyone walks everywhere at the average racewalker’s pace, my lack of daily walking came with a creeping weight gain. Sigh. So, at my annual physical I talked things over with my doc and got the OK to start an exercise program. The following day I went out and bought a recumbent bike. With a bike I could exercise indoors. I didn't have to worry about the weather, or the fact that it is dark outside at 6:00AM before work and dark outside at 5:00P after work in the winter, or that I couldn't make it to the gym because of (insert excuse here).

It wasn’t easy. Despite my good intentions, my recumbent bike started life as a clothing rack. Until the day I saw Morgan Spurlock’s movie “Supersize Me.” After the movie I threw everything on the floor, got on the bike and realized, via the bike’s calorie counter, how much effort it took to work off one 270 calorie candy bar. I also started eating better, watching portion size, and shunning fast-food. Today I exercise for a minimum of 30 minutes a day, and sometimes I even work-out twice a day. My sports of choice are the recumbent bike, tennis, swimming, walking and free weights. I am now down one dress size. It all happened gradually over 6 months of moderate exercise and eating a healthier diet. I also have a pal who is on the same journey. It helps me to have a buddy to keep me on track and honest.




Importantly, I have come to the realization that I am a recreational sports kind-of-gal. Once I found the kind of exercise I like to do it was easier to stick to it. A friend of mine likes to train for marathons. Another loves competitive biking and spin classes. Every person is different. Exercise is now a habit for me and I enjoy it. Not every day, but most days. I am not competing with anyone. I am doing it just for me.

I find books, CD’s and DVD’s on health and fitness at my library. Free with my library card. Some websites that I use on my fitness journey: United States Tennis Association, Runners World, United States Masters Swimming, The Self Challenge .

As for television, last week I watched Shaq’s Big Challenge, Tuesday’s 9P Eastern Time on ABC Television in which NBA star Shaquille O’Neal tackles the issue of childhood obesity. The website has some cool tips and links under “Get on Shaq’s Team.” In last week’s show Shaq and his team of experts approached a school principal about getting physical education classes back into the curriculum. The principal told the team to find her a way to do it within the budget. I was stunned. What? Some schools today have no PE?!! Hey, if I had to endure ugly gym shorts for my entire elementary, middle-school, and high school years then so does everyone else! Why do school budget cuts always hit sports, the arts, and the music programs? Sigh.

Time to turn off the computer and go play tennis…for the second time today! Watching the Wimbledon Championship has inspired me. Venus Williams captured her 4th Wimbledon Championship and Roger Federer equaled Bjorn Borg’s 5 consecutive Wimbledon Championships. P.S. I can’t wait for more tennis matches between Switzerland's Federer and Spain’s incredible Rafael Nadal. What a match-up!