Mark Helprin Interview

MF: Do you still write in long hand?

Mark Helprin: Yes, I do. I have a word processor. I was computer literate probably before most people. In the '60's, I took a course with a famous physicist who was at one point the head of the Bell Labs, and he taught a course called communications theory in which he introduced us to the future, to digitalization and to things like broadband and that kind of stuff, way back then. So I knew about it, and I knew what to invest in but I didn't have any money to invest.

I had my first computer in 1980, so it's not as if I'm not computer literate. However, I still believe in writing with a pen on a piece of paper. And everything I've ever written has been written that way except for one story, which I did solely as a typing exercise.

MF: Do you use the internet?

Mark Helprin: I use it only for professional reasons and to communicate with my children who are in college. When I say professional reasons, I use it to send in pieces; I use it for business communications; and I use it for research. I don't rely on it for research. I tend to check things, because the internet can be changed so easily, which is a scary thing to me. It's unlike a library where if you're going to change something, you have to send people with scissors and paste, and it's obvious something's been changed. I don't use it for social communication or entertainment in any aspect. I'm allergic to that.

MF: What's next for Mark Helprin?

Mark Helprin: There is another novel coming but I can't talk about it except to say that it takes place in New York and Paris in the 1940's.

MF: I'll look forward to it. Thanks again for speaking with me today.

Mark Helprin: My pleasure.

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