"The Sound on the Page": An Interview with Ben Yagoda

Re-reading "The Sound on the Page" this summer rekindled the same excitement I first felt in college when Oliver Nickerson S.J., a brilliant and demanding English professor, showed how careful reading could reveal the mysteries of literature. In the same accessible fashion, Yagoda combines erudite and often witty analysis, examples of stylistic excellence and infelicities and most important, candid testimony from more than 40 interviews the author conducted with acknowledged stylists whose platforms range from the newspaper humor column (Dave Barry), magazines (Susan Orlean), the novel (Michael Chabon), online writing (Minneapolis Star Tribune columnist James Lileks) and even Supreme Court decisions (Justice Stephen Breyer).
Yagoda is a practical scholar and reflective practitioner interested in cracking the code of memorable writing. His previous books include biographies of a literary tradition ("About Town: The New Yorker and the World It Made") and a legendary humorist ("Will Rogers: A Biography").