Four hundred or so people lived in Knockemstiff in 1957, nearly all of them connected by blood through one godforsaken calamity or another, be it lust or necessity or just plain ignorance.

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• Donald Ray Pollock:

  I was always a big reader, even when everything was bad and miserable.

• Donald Ray Pollock:

  I'm probably the least cerebral guy you're ever going to meet as a writer.

• Donald Ray Pollock:

  I would like to write a book that wasn't so violent and weird, but I just don't think I can do that

• Donald Ray Pollock:

  I'd always been a big reader, and I loved books, and I always thought writing would be a great way

• Donald Ray Pollock:

  If the story wasn't overly long, I'd type it out. And I'd carry it around with me for a week and jo

• Donald Ray Pollock:

  I would try to write my own story about some East Coast suburbanite having an affair or something l

• Donald Ray Pollock:

  I was 35 when I started taking classes at Ohio University. After I got my degree, I kept working at

• Donald Ray Pollock:

  When I was growing up, I always wanted to be somebody else and live somewhere else. I've always fel

• Donald Ray Pollock:

  When I was growing up, I just wanted to be somewhere else. I didn't like living in Knockemstiff, an

• Donald Ray Pollock:

  Nobody really turns out too happy in any of my stuff. It's really strange, because I'm actually a p