In anticipation of his new book, Deacon King Kong, James McBride spoke to Seija Rankin at Entertainment Weekly about his favorite books and authors, including Harper Lee, William Saroyan, and John A. Williams. He also recounts a once-in-a-lifetime meeting with one of his literary heroes, Kurt Vonnegut. “I had lunch with Vonnegut and his wife, the talented photographer Jill Krementz, not too long before he died. After lunch Jill left us alone and Kurt and I listened to Wagner and Louis Armstrong in his sitting room. We talked music for a long time. He loved those two creative musical voices.”
Bonus Links from Our Archive:
— Black and Proud: James McBride on James Brown
— The Stories of James McBride
— A Sensitive Meatball: On Kurt Vonnegut’s Letters
