Three Writers With Charisma, PassionAnd Style

by Sebastian Horsley, NPR

I hate books. Oh, where do I find all the time for not reading so many of them? But I do. The chief knowledge that a man gets from reading books is the knowledge that very few of them are worth reading.

Writing is a long, painful and appallingly styleless process that takes you away from people. Writers I admire are those who have transcended their medium and made sure they themselves displayed more style than their mere creations.

Quentin Crisp, Andy Warhol, Lord Byron — their personalities touched the imagination even more intimately than their work. Books are only things, but writers are individuals. Of course, they all have a dash of vulgarity. Who, without an element of vulgarity, can become a work of art?

Broadcast Dates

• All Things Considered, November 6, 2008