Cormac McCarthy Interview - Subconscious is older than Language
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- Опубліковано 17 жов 2014
- More context:
Cormac McCarthy's article on the Unconscious:
nautil.us/issue/47/consciousne...
Unconscious and the Language (around the 3:00 mark):
• Cormac McCarthy - Subc...
This poor man. Probably the greatest writer of an entire epoch of American history, and Oprah asks him about money and his ex-wives. Jesus Christ. At least he was a good sport about it. It's kind of belittling.
it was just an excerpt
gardenvarietypenis Doesn't matter. That question is not one that should be posed to one of the greatest writers in Amercian history. It's the kind of facile shit someone totally vapid asks because they have nothing interesting to say.
snowsandrivers blackfyrestorm Well, cry about it all you want, the interviewer has an audience that does care about this as does the author. he clearly isn't as elitist as you are about himself. Moreover, the biography of the man is of interest if he is indeed "one of the greatest writers in American history." I'm no Oprah fan but McCarthy consented to be interviewed by her and he knew questions like this one would be posed. This "poor man" indeed. LMAO!!!
gardenvarietypenis 1. Who cares if the interview has an audience? That doesn't make the questions any less vacuous.
2. McCarthy consented to be interviewed because he was pressured by his publicist. He pretty much never consents to be interviewed. Whether or not he knew that the questions would be like this has no bearing on how idiotic these questions are.
3. If you're okay with mediocrity that's on you. I'm going to point it out when I see it.
snowsandrivers blackfyrestorm 1)They're vacuous questions to YOU. 2) Tough shit. He has enough clout and money under his belt to shun the media for good. He compromised...deal with it. 3) I don't give a shit about an author's interview and what you perceive as being mediocre. I thought it was a decent interview for what it was. How do you know if he isn't blowing smoke. Maybe he took the opportunity to blow some smoke under Oprah's pant suit just for fun. You don't know what they edited, what was discussed before the airing or what stipulations were made...do you? As far as you know, Cormac McCarthy was fine with the interview. To be the honest, I thought the interview was far from mediocre for the time allotted. And, as I said, I've watched about 1.5 Oprah episode in my lifetime - no fan of hers.
"Why were you married three times? Why were you so poor forty years ago?"
Yeah, because these are really useful/tasteful questions to ask this fascinating and reclusive author who for all you know will totally refuse to do another interview.
I think she's smarter than that. She knows her audience.
This dude is unbelievably gifted at writing.
Scary really. Like some sort of conduit
“It makes no difference what men think of war, said the judge. War endures. As well ask men what they think of stone. War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner. That is the way it was and will be. That way and not some other way.”
Blood Meridian reads like scripture
@@kenthefele113I always think people take these comparisons a little too far and it doesn't do McCarthy justice. Literature needs the serious stuff but it's uneven when a writer takes himself too seriously. McCarthy can be light too and people inevitably attack him for it. Like "this guy's the greatest writer? Why does he have a scene where all a character does is mop of food with a tortilla?" It's the balance of the thing and it's all in service of the novel as an artform. Judge Holden also had moments where he was genuinely a peculiar and funny character. I only say this because people think the path to being a great writer is to just be really serious like the Bible but it's the wrong way of looking at McCarthy in my opinion.
I really wish somebody else would have interviewed Cormac.
+Hi There Roger ugh she has no knowledge of any of his books.
+Hi There Roger think of all the questions you would have asked him? maybe a few about his art????
She has no knowledge of writing, story-telling, the rich tapestry of his novel's sentences and word choices and well...I ranted above
I'd prefer Bill O'Reilly over this shit. Such a lost opportunity.
Oprah is a pizza burn on the roof of the world’s mouth.
This is not so much an interview for McCarthy but a peek into Oprah's obsession with money and stuff..
really? asking someone who was living in dier poverty about that stage of his life is obssesive? funny
Glad I could make you laugh Jean
Interesting observation.
Lmfao
It’s a shame that one of the only known interviews of McCarthy happens to be with Oprah
Oprah:
"And I hear you were so poor that you wave a popsicle around for air conditioning. And I also hear you were so poor you couldn't even PAY attention. And were you so poor that ducks threw bread at you? And I heard you were so poor you open multiple email accounts just so you can eat the spam. Oh and I also heard you were spotted walking down the street with one shoe and when asked if you lost a shoe you said you found one. Wow that IS POOR!"
+Brett Wilson Oprah: "In fact, Mr McCarthy despite your work being adapted to an Academy Award winner for best picture... I was informed that your own mother thought that a quarterback was some kind of refund, Would you like to comment?".
LMAO!!!
good stuff. the duck one is good. three years later and still making them laugh
Brett Wilson lmfao
Haha
This is like watching Emily Dickinson resurrected at the Super Bowl halftime show.
+CurlyJefferson lmao
+CurlyJefferson god damn
really made me laugh there. cheers
hahah that's fkn amazing. too true
Cringe/lol
I hadn’t realized what a poor interviewer Oprah is.
Me either! I was never a fan, but geez, she's superficial.
Cormac: “...Infants nailed to a tree...”
Producers: Let’s have Oprah interview Cormac McCarthy.
Cormac is kind of an anamoly; his books are evil but classy and elegant.
Not nailed hanging
@@abetollefsen1545 skewered I believe, upon branches of a tree.
@@skullpoints1332 You're both wrong, they were hanging
@@neo-filthyfrank1347 skewered through their under jaw on branches of a mesquite tree if you want to be specific.
Oprah is a sham. "Poor this poor that". Cant she ask questions on his personal philosophies or perspectives on other subjects? Oprah is an embarrassment to the works of this man.
One of my greatest wishes in life is to meet this man! What a writer. What a fine and formidable thinker. Cormac, if you see this by some miracle, please know that reading your work is such a privilege. Your books are extraordinary, compassionate and brilliant. You are one of the greats. Thank you!
What for do you want to meet him?
Clocks ticking
@@HAL-vc3ofdamn
She was so amazed at how poor he was.
She grew up extremely poor herself.
Yes, can you imagine how many pairs of shoes she has?
>Cormac McCarthy will die within our lifetimes
It's not fair.
+Komnenos But he also lived during our lifetimes.
his posture is legendary
I enjoy seeing how squeamish Oprah gets when he talks about materialism (1:35).. maybe she's reflecting on the extravagance of her multi-billion dollar estate?
Rest in Peace, Cormac. I read The Road and really enjoyed it. I've been trying to keep going with Blood Meridian but always found it hard to continue for whatever reason. Guess this is about as good a time as ever to go back to it.
"...some things are very nice, but they certainly take a distant second place to being able to live your life"
This is as close as Cormac got to bashing Oprah for putting him through such an uncomfortable interview. He looked satisfied when he said it too.
how is that bashing oprah why is everyone in this comments section fucking stupid?
@@KitchenJames She's a billionaire she literally covets material objects above all else
She looked so pissed when he said it too, her eye even started twitching 😂
Oprah operates at a different level. She has the aura that she’s waiting to be offended at any time. Cormac is beyond petty political statements in his work. Lack of women? He’s a man’s man writer? All bullshit. His writing is human. This is the beauty of esoteric literature; Oprah can’t appreciate the mastery of Cormac’s writing. The interview is a successful portrait of why he’s never welcomed interviews with reporters: they think they understand his work ... he knows they never will.
Then where are all the women in his work? There is nothing wrong with that question and he gave a substantive and interesting answer. What makes you think she can’t understand his work when she has read several of his books and literally has the most famous and influential book club in the world regularly featuring literature. Also, there is nothing esoteric about his work, it is very mainstream and standard american novel writing. F
I rarely ever comment on anything, but if you read "All the Pretty Horses" you'll see that the most influential character throughout the entire book is Alexandra, a woman. John Grady does not develop as a person without her, and the impactful ending of the story is impossible without the incredible influence of her as a character. To say that he is a "man's man" writer is to disregard the incredible influence women characters have in his works
Cormac McCarthy seems to me a man that always knew he was absurdly talented, insanely gifted, and though humble towards others about his innate genius, used it to forge his own path, stubbornly, relentlessly, and unabashedly. I envy this genius, and the drive to wield it in such a way. He is a literary giant with a great, eclipsing shadow. I'm daunted by its breadth, but I've food, a good pair of shoes, I'll do my best to find that shadow's terminus so perhaps I might cast my own.
Great comment.
This is just painful.
In response to many of the comments: This is an excerpt from a larger interview. For someone who knew nothing about this man, it is extremely insightful to know the life behind the author. The fact that he has so many anecdotes about small miracles happening for him, and how that may have influenced his writing is incredibly interesting, and at the very least significant. Please, critically think before commenting, especially on videos that are a little more intellectual.
I'm in the same boat as you. I was interested in who he was since to me he was a mystery. I don't think she asked anything that egregious, and to me the comments seem to be trying to get angry for McCarthy's behalf when in reality, he probably didn't think the questions were that egregious either, and likely expected.
She has read his books but asks him ridiculous and pathetic questions
He writes above her IQ
myfriend280 right! But of course this is probably the reason this gifted man never does interviews... because he knows how shallow these type of people are. He should have had an interview with a fan, albeit a articulate and professional one with questions to ask him that fans have sent in etc as well as ones from the interviewer. Such a shame because after this failure I doubt he will ever interview again. Oh the questions I would have asked him!
I bet you anything she hasn't read one of his books, probably had an assistant give her a quick run down on The Road and Blood Meridian
Why do you bet that Kev, my man? What's so unbelievable about Oprah reading Cormac McCarthy? She's obviously a really smart person. Most people in her position wouldn't bother pushing great literature on people. It's not like interviewing literary fiction writers is super lucrative or something lmao.
Don't be Naïve Jame.
His eyes just tell you that he's intelligent.
Один из лучших писателей современности
I loved when he said "subconscious is older than language"
Yeah really. Maybe I missed it.
This man is an absolutely brilliant writer. I have read all ten of his novels (Blood Meridian, twice), The Gardner's Son, The Counselor screenplay, The Stonemason, and The Sunset Limited. Blood Meridian is horrific in its violence, especially that scene with the Judge and the babies in the tree! I loved Child of God and The Road, I brought the latter with me everywhere I went til I finished it. It is because of McCarthy that I started reading Faulkner, and now I am loving his work.
@@GuacamoleyNacho His early Southern novels are very heavily influenced by Faulkner. I don’t know if McCarthy has ever talked about Faulkner himself, but plenty of other people have commented on the similarity.
How can a woman this graceless be an interviewer and known across the land for having a book club? I'm not American, so I don't know much about this Oprah woman, but hearing her here for the first time I'm astounded how simplistic she sounds, and how condescending her questions are towards a man of very high intellect.
+Ross Law If you don't know much about her, how can you judge her off of one video clip?
+Ross Law That is such a great point. I was so bitter about her idiotic questions I didn't even think about that angle. People worship her for her taste in books, that really is alarming given this display. Cormac McCarthy is without a doubt one of my favorite authors, man I really wish this would have been a better interview.
Maybe she was afraid? lol
I imagine that these questions are areas where she relates to Cormac. Oprah grew up poor as well.
It’s not her, it’s her audience.
Get off your high horse.
Of course writers are best at writing, not talking. As he has mentioned in other interviews, writing is his work and he puts a lot of efforts into it. Answering unexpected questions can be hazardous and destabilizing for a dedicated writer. That is probably why his answers are short and simple. Bravo M. McCarthy!
Reading Cormac McCarthy is a cathartic experience. An amazing cathartic experience.
You know what's awful? This is probably the only interview he's ever going to give like this. Ever.
Long life to the Master! I'm still wondering when his Passenger will come out.
4 years later, as i’m sure your probably know, there is not much sign of it still.
@@marblefrierer I think that book got shelved. Ironical for a book
It's out
0:20 "Mr. Corin Gacarthy"?
Chris R. Sandberg How did no one else pick his up?
Lmao
Thank you so much. My brain refused to process what she really said.
Butchered for sure
To everyone who is saying Oprah's questions are superficial: There is no point in asking a genius the "why" and "how" of their genius, for if it could be explained or reasoned then it would be lost. Sort of like asking the Sun what a sunrise means. It is much better to find out what a Genius thinks about the superficial world most of us live in and obsess about because what we need to understand (or at least what we want to understand) as The Masses is not what Cormac thinks of Cormac, it is what Cormac thinks of us.
Anyone else felt like slapping Oprah or was it just me?!?!?! bitch life is not all about money
His words between 2:10-2:30 really strike a chord with me. I know that it's true but I am too much of a coward to do it right now.
You can do it man. Remember this phrase: "Fuck it".
imagine having the opportunity to talk to this man and asking such vapid, pointless questions...
Cormac:
“That‘s why I think that material things are not everything in this life.“
Oprah:
“That‘s nice, but is it TRUE YOU WERE SO POOR THAT YOU DIDN‘T HAVE MONEY FOR TOOTHPASTE??!!!!“
Of all the people to grant a rare interview to.....
“Mr. Coran Gacarthy”.. nailed it Oprah
I very much relate to what he said about work. I'm an artist who never wants to work for anyone else, and that means I don't. But I'm always working hard on my art, there's not a day that goes by where I'm not working on it, and somehow this has worked out for me because I will it to. It means I'm often very poor but I would never give up what I think is the right way for me to go. Maybe for others it's what's right, and they couldn't do what I do, they might not understand this but to me it doenst matter.
"Mr. Coring Ggarthy"
What a terrific interview. I love this guy.
she gets a chance to interview one of our generations greatest yet recluse authors and you spend it talking about his wives like its a trashy tabloid magazine
Gifted writer, on par with Shakespeare IMHO, who also was poor in his early writing career. Both offered great insights and observations of the human condition. I hope the passage of time brings him greater recognition and appreciation. He deserves that.
I felt it was a great interview with O respecting Mccarthy's obvious aversion to publicly speaking of more meaningful topics while touching on subjects interesting to herself and her viewers.
She's exactly why he avoids interviews.She immediately brings up women missing from his work, struggling without much money, and then pursuing what he wanted instead of wasting his life(like she could understand anything beyond the superficial).
what is wrong with those questions
He chose to interview with Oprah for a reason. He respected her. All her questions were valid, and brought forth insightful answers.
This is why he never did another interview
“I was living in a shack in Tennessee and I ran out of tooth paste” haha classic
I really wish Dolly Pardon interviewed Cormac instead
The man does his first interview in years and it’s with her? I bet he left telling himself “this is why I never do interviews.”
i feel so sad that she keeps bringing up how desperately poor he was again and again ect. he kept his composure better than i would have.
One of the greatest living authors.. Those who are acclaimed as one of the best seem to deliver truth authentically, without sugarcoating it at all. Dostoyevsky, Arthur Rimbaud, Nabokov. It would have been wonderful if I got any idea of his cognitive process for writing, to create something like Blood Meridian, Child of God, No Country for Old Men. It's common for a writer to get to know more about writers like Cormac.
Though I am a writer I too much prefer the company of scientists.
Sensational writer
what's money, possessing, compared to creating? the feeling of creating, of tapping into the wellspring of the universe, is what it's all about. Oprah doesn't seem to understand that. Imagine what it felt/feels like to write like that
Flows like liquid gold creativity onto the page....what’s a blessing! No wonder he seems so fulfilled even when reminiscing on times he had not a cent.
Jesus Oprah not everything is about money. People write for the love of it. You squandered a great interview opportunity.
What possible relevance is this line of questioning about his modest means and periods of modest financial status regarding his stature as a titan of American literature? I appreciate that cash and money and wealth and status are the measuring devices for Oprah, to an extent - those are the rarified circles she swims in and well, I don't begrudge her what she has. But here is such a rare opportunity to hear this man speak - this astounding talent and this is what is discussed? Really, he doesn't need to talk about this and we certainly don't need to hear about it. Now, having said that, food and shoes are important to one and all and thank Sweet Fancy Moses, Blessed Jesus and all the Holy Saints and Saintresses we got that covered. Is there any mystery - any whatever, as to why this man prefers not to sit for interviews with people that waste his time and ours with these ferrel, puerile, petty, pompous lines of questioning? How I would have preferred a Charlie Rose insightful, polite, measured, intelligent interview rather than this commonplace drivel interrogation about the unimportant financial issues. And not only that - let's be VERY honest here: she's using this as a means of subjugating him and elevating herself (in her mind). The fact is, quite simply, that the madness of extreme wealthy distorts extensively so she's not even fathoming that her sitting there gleefully asking "so - it it true? it is true?" with this fetishistic, voyeuristic gossip's gleam in her eye "that you were put out of a $40/week hotel once because you didn't have the money?" You know what I would have said? Well, I would have stopped the interview. But, let's assume that he and her "people" went over these general topics but she sharpened the knives a bit too sharply and drove them in a mite too deeply and twisted them for her own perverse delight. SO perhaps I would not have stopped the interview, but i would have turned the tables on her quickly to offer her some grist for her reflection mill as to why she's not a perfect life form. And she isn't.
Legendary
you get this man to do an interview and the second question you do is an accusation of him not including women in his novels..
Great quote/concept, but the title "Subconscious is older than language" is confusing. McCarthy nor Oprah don't seem to say or elude to that idea (unless I missed it). It seems a better title here would be 'body language is more honest than interview language.' He obviously does not want to be there and/or doesn't give a damn.
his so much nicer then his novels
The man has said several times that he doesn't like talking about his work at all, infact he said in this interview that he turned down money when he was piss poor for that exact reason. So why is anyone surprised that Oprah didn't focus on his work?
Well, I doubt he was there to have a chat w/ her about his lack of toothpaste
RIP, Space Cowboy.
such a beautiful interview 👍😊
Based on this interview, you would think that his books were works of hard scrabble social realism about poor kids overcoming adversity. I don’t reckon that I learned much from this interview. If you’re curious about his backstory, ask about Suttree. More than anything, ask him about the damn books. Ask him why he chose to write a post-apocalyptic novel after decades of writing Southern gothics and Westerns. Heck, ask him what he thinks of Westerns or who his favorite authors are. I think that you would probably learn more about him that way than by asking superficial biographical questions. The only somewhat interesting question was the one about the role of women in his novels, but even that one is phrased in a way that’s focused on what ISN’T in his books. “Why don’t you write about this subject?” What more can a writer do in that situation but shrug?
Let’s be honest: most great authors are incredibly dull. Even the neurotic ones are dull people. That’s because they spend their lives thinking and typing. It seems like such a missed opportunity, then, to focus on everything BUT the thinking and typing.
Oprah is so simple minded it’s not even funny. This man is explaining a higher consciousness that we are on this earth a short amount of time. And doing what you want is key. Among other things that fuel his soul. And she’s talking about once you where so poor you didn’t have shoes. Like wtf
love
I agree that Oprah
over-emphasizes the thing about the money but on the other hand I thank her for
bringing this author for many of us to listen to.
“I heard you were so po you couldn’t afford the last two letters.” What a waste of a golden opportunity. I want to understand the metaphysical implications of “The Counselor.” Were you happy with what Ridley Scott did with your incredible screenplay? Is the boy in “The Road” the innocence of the human soul that we are charged to protect in the desolate world of materialism?
The boy from The Road symbolizes the same concept as the kid from Blood Meridian: the _pneumatics_ in Gnosticism.
By contrast, people like Oprah and Judge Holden from Blood Meridian symbolize _hylics:_ materialistic and overly concerned with matter.
She was absolute crap to Cormac here.
Dang, Oprah's gonna be pissed when she finds out she isn't gonna leave anything of any worth behind with all the money she has. But McCarthy will.
You've got to have food and shoes. Same name, and says the same things as I do.
Umm, where does he discuss the subconscious?
It was entirely in the subtext...
Gets interview with famously reclusive author
Asks about money and wives
Not a terrible interview. And he said at the start that he didnt want to talk bout the context of his books. A little cringy, but thats what i expected. Still nice to hear im talk
I like this interview. Is more the man than the writer
Like she is an any way his intellectual peer.
McCarthy is, in my opinion, the most poetic and yet realistic writer of our time.
I read broadly, but keep returning to the Border Trilogy, Blood Meridian or Outer Dark whenever I want to read something for the way it is written.
BTW the film adaptation of No Country for Old Men is brilliant but All The Pretty Horses lost so much depth, it was like a characature of the book.
Good thing some of us work for obvious reasons.
such a talent,legend even, being interviewed by a mental insignificant...
thats a wise man.
Where is the insight into his writing?
IF WE COULD ALL HAVE THE COURAGE, TO STEP OUTSIDE SOCIETAL CONSTRAINTS AND PURSUE OUR ''GOD-FEELINGS'' LIKE MR.CORMAC, THE WORLD WOULD DEFINITELY BECOME A BETTER PLACE.
siben gerard or it would end up like the road.
LOL...STILL NO PROBLEM////
Great writer, but a tough interview. I saw him on Lawrence Krauss's podcast, and it was like pulling teeth. But I reiterate, great writer.
No wonder he won't do interviews
Jesus! Oprah, ask him about his books, not his income
:50 -- Watching this in 2022, one may cringe at Oprah asking this question as today it would be a clear "gotcha" question. However, this interview is from ten years ago and Oprah is not being accusatory but rather asking a genuine question, which by the way, if you've read Cormac, is perfectly reasonable.
There are almost no women in his novels, which is unusual for a novelist . . .
in the toothpaste question you can see in his face he is starting to regret having accepted an interview
Fucking toothpaste... Ask the greatest modern writer about toothpaste?!?!
He doesn't like to talk about his literature. Says so himself, he'd turn down opprtunities to speak in classes and book signings since everything he needs to say is on the page.
Oprah never read a thing in her life 😂
Women? "The road" is all about women. It is about a promise broken, and the world of ash that remains once love has been abandoned. The book is about a broken heart, as was "the orchard keeper". And yes, it is also a love story. To be rejected by your true love, your one and only ally, your mother in a sense, leaves you in a state of personal apocalypse. The wasteland does not await us in some distant future. It is the here and now for the abandoned, for the broken hearted. I am afraid our friend Cormac understands women all too well Oprah.
I feel as though he removes women in the bulk of his stories as to say without women society is nonexistent.
Roman Brown It's shocking to see such profound thought (and so poetically expressed) in the comments section of You Tube.
I strongly disagree with you interpretation of "The Road." It is not in anyway "all about women." It is a love story, but it is about a man's love for his child. You're placing far too much emphasis on the role of the Man's wife. I believe this comment says a lot more about your personal view of women than it does about the novel,
art doesn't need an agenda, even a message. art should evoke something, anything without pointing out the obvious. hate how some people reduce everything to black or white to female or male to just or unjust when nothing in this world is equal or balanced. after all, he writes about stories, about humanity and what about that has ever been even.
It's not "all about women". That's ridiculous. He doesn't write women characters. That's what she means (and he confirms).
1:53
He is the greatest novelist dead or alive.
or undead...
The greatest novelist is Gabriel García Marquez. Really, no chauvinism at all. Read One Hundred Years of Solitude and The Autoumn of the Patriarch and you will see I am right.
The subconscious like Inside Out!
Was Oprah just roaring him the whole time?
Considering all those times he turned down a speaking engagement although he really needed the money.... why on earth did he agree to go on Oprah of all places, when he certainly doesn't need the money?
why oprah.
Oh my god,. how lucky for having the rare privilege of meeting,
Oprah
Cormac is a funny guy
we are to believe that oprah read (sic) blood meridian. Having done so, her big question is why aren't there more women in his novels. Doubtless she would have the same question after "reading" Moby Dick or Robinson Crusoe or Goethe's Faustus.
Instead of asking thoughtful questions from one of the greatest writers, she mocks how poor he was. clown.