The New York Times notes Frank Conroy’s departure from the University of Iowa Writes’ Workshop.
Dinitia Smith writes (excerpt):
Now, after directing this literary powerhouse for 18 years, Frank Conroy has announced he is leaving and is willing to reveal the secret to his success: “I wing it.”
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“I have no theoretical ax to grind,” Mr. Conroy, 68, said in a telephone interview from Iowa City. “I’m most interested in writing itself, for itself, rather than how it fits into a theory of literature.”
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Chris Offutt, who was Mr. Conroy’s student at Iowa in the late 1980’s and now teaches there regularly, says that “the supreme Conroyvian lesson” is clarity. “The crucial detail that allows you to see the whole image.”
“He likes a beginning, middle and end,” Mr. Offutt added. “Classic, well-made writing.”