No regimented notions of literature: Ford

JAIPUR: In his maiden visit to the country the celebrated American author Richard Ford is raring to interact with his readers.
He Is dismissive of regimented notions of literature from different cultures and in their various forms. He's grown up with minor dyslexia, which he thinks has given him an edge; and he "accepts" he is an avid reader.
Before his visit to India, though not especially for it, Ford has read Rabindranath Tagore and R K Narayan, and now, the 66-year-old is as excited about Indian or English literature as he is about American writings.
"I just read. I don't work with such distinctions of culture. When I read an Indian novel in English, I think I am reading a novel. I don't think that I have to put on my Indian hat, because this is going to be a book by Indians about Indians. When I read, I try to make sense of the work in terms of a system of values that I understand. The idea is to be comfortable with things that I don't understand,'' says Ford.
Speaking exclusively to TOI at the JLF, Ford is quick to rubbish concerns about decreasing numbers taking to literature. Reading habits, he says, may have changed, but it is not as if people are reading any less. "People are reading from different places. They are reading off screens, rather than reading off pages. People may not read the traditional novels, but the system of delivering novels to readers that is changing, not reading itself,'' he adds.
Currently working on his next novel set to be launched in 2012, "Canada', about a child whose parents are put in jail for robbing a bank, Ford is also keen to use the opportunity to use the literature festival as an entry into the country as a tourist.
"William Dalrymple asked me to attend and I thought, if I didn't come to India now, I will never be able to come. My wife visited and said it was such a gift to be able to see the country,'' he says.
Asked about how he does the balancing act between being a novelist and a short story writer, Ford maintains he not smart enough to know the difference. "`I never thought that the distinction between stories, novels or novellas was a natural distinction. You write them all, one sentence at a time, and that's the only difference,'' he adds.
Even winning the Pulitzer award, it appears, is not really significant. "In some cases a person who wins can become very fashionable; sometimes this phenomenon does not occur. I have noticed this myself, from one book to the next. The difference really, I think is a good book, not the prize. For me, the only change post the Pulitzer was that I got older,'' Ford laughed.
Ask him about literature that excites him, and Ford is clear - he like to read "to learn things''. But he also turns to literature to see "dramatic action portrayed and to have it find unexpected consequence.'' His recent favourites range from American author Jonathan Dee's The Privileged to readings of Tagore, Sunetra Gupta and Amit Chaudhuri.
Ford says: "I read literature without drawing the cultural lines across my reading habits. I read just so that I can be reading. I know the difference when I'm reading someone who is not Amercian, but it doesn't mean a great deal to me that those cultural differences are embedded.'