This is a wonderful interview with author Paul Theroux. Here’s an excerpt:
“Naipaul was a deeply flawed man — tantrum-prone and depressive — but a magnificent writer. His great gift to me was of encouragement. Everyone needs it, not only writers. Everyone. Naipaul would say, after reading something of mine, “You’re going to be all right,” which vitalized me and gave me hope.
“Creativity is about experimenting — failing, failing again, failing better, as Beckett said. Growing up, needing privacy in a large family — I was the third of seven children — I became a fugitive, finding solace in libraries and in long hikes and in solitude, as well as in many menial jobs — anything to escape the conflicting demands and the scrutiny of my family.”