SOURCE: Moore, Lorrie, and Elizabeth Gaffney. “Lorrie Moore: The Art of Fiction 167.” Paris Review 43, no. 158 (spring-summer 2001): 57-84.

In the following interview, Moore discusses her formative experiences and literary influences, her approach to writing, the characters and themes in her writing, and the conflicting demands of writing, parenting, and working.

When The Paris Review approached Lorrie Moore about doing a Writers-at-Work interview, she responded with a warning: “My life is impossible to make interesting—others have tried before,” and a lament: “Alas, I am virtually incoherent speaking in person.” She then proposed that we simply begin with a written interview rather than “making our way politely toward one.” We compromised on an initial interview session to be followed by extensive questions and answers exchanged via U.S. mail and fax (but not E-mail, which she abjures). Of course, Moore turned out to be exquisitely coherent in person. Our meeting...