Lethem, Dyer: "Absurdly Long Books on One Small Thing"

In BOMB, Jonathan Lethem interviews Geoff Dyer about his essayistic narratives, or novelistic essays, whichever they are, with special attention paid to The Missing of the Somme, newly released in the U.S., high on my wish list. And in passing they touch on Marclay's The Clock, Dickens, Wordsworth's The Prelude, laziness, "deep plumbing of consciousness." Lots of good stuff, but I'll highlight this:

DYER: . . . I like books that are about other books in some way. In terms of well-being or psychological health, certainly I’m extremely happy when I set out, either for an article or a book, to read and learn everything I can about a given person or subject, to completely immerse myself in it. I feel, at that point, that I have a purpose. When it comes to actually writing a book, that excitement and well-being would soon turn to boredom if it didn’t proceed in tandem with the creative challenge of coming up with some kind of form or structure that seems especially appropriate to that subject.

And this:

DYER: . . . I operate at a far lower level of energy and inspiration, but a higher pitch of desperation! Generally, I like the idea of short books on one particular cultural artifact as long as they don’t conform to some kind of series idea or editorial template. The madder the better, in my view. I like the idea of an absurdly long book on one small thing. I think we’d agree that the choice of artifact is sort of irrelevant in terms of its cultural standing: all that matters is what it means to you, the author.