Dan Chaon Talks About Fame, Fortune and Fiction by Anita Lancaster
PHOTOGRAPH BY B. MOLNAR Related Links: Dan Chaon's Web Page		OCTOBER 24, 2001--Dan Chaon, assistant professor of creative writing, has been nominated as one of five finalists in the country for a National Book Award in fiction. Chaon's latest effort, Among the Missing, has been praised by critics across the county and was recently the subject of a full-page review in The New York Times. Among the Missing, published in July 2001, is a collection of 12 short stories that deal with the theme of loss. The popularity of Chaon's literary efforts has elicited attention on Oberlin's campus, too. Here's what the author has to say about the recent praise for Among the Missing. AL: How are you handling the rush of recent publicity? DC: It's been a lot of fun. One of the nice things is that my nomination for this award was totally out of left field. No one would have predicted it, including me in my wildest ego-tripping fantasies--and so I don't feel any pressure. After the initial shock, I've been enjoying the ride. I'm looking forward to the free hotel room, the free champagne, and the bronze National Book Award Finalist medal--which I plan to wear to my classes from now on. Actually, I'll probably wear it in the shower, too. AL: How has your nomination affected you as a creative writing professor? DC: Many of my students are so awestruck that they are speechless when they see me--or else they burst into tears, like small children when a scary clown talks to them at a birthday party. Actually, I think that most of them are very pleased and happy for me, and that has been gratifying. I gave a reading at Oberlin shortly after the nominations were announced, and it was packed with people I've had in class, all of them cheering. That's the best thing that's happened to me since the nominations were announced, and the thing that made me happiest. AL: How are the faculty members treating you? DC: I've always had a great relationship with my colleagues in the Creative Writing Program, and everyone has been very warm and supportive. Both Martha Collins and Sylvia Watanabe read pieces of the book in early drafts, and were extremely helpful when I was writing the book. AL: How has being a finalist for the award changed you? DC: I don't think it has, except that maybe now I'll have a little more leverage on the publishing industry end of things. But otherwise, I'm still living the same life I've been living, and I'm still back at square one when I sit down to write--it's still the same struggle to get a good paragraph down on the page, and still the same self-doubts and hair-pulling that my students go through. AL: What inspired you to write the story Safety Man? DC: I wrote the story shortly after the death of my parents, when I was thinking about the way we process grief in this country and how you can be both really crazy and basically functional at the same time. Also, I saw an ad for a "safety man" in a catalog and I just found it enormously amusing and interesting. AL: If you are selected the winner, will it in anyway change your teaching status? DC: I don't foresee any changes in my status here. I was so happy to be hired on as a permanent faculty member last year. I love teaching at Oberlin. AL: Are you currently working on any new stories? DC: Not really. I am contracted by my publisher to deliver a novel as my next book, so I'm very involved with that right now. I've got a few stories on the side, but I'm focused on finishing my novel. I expect that my next book after the novel will be another short story collection. AL: Since being selected as a finalist, has this changed your image at home and on campus? DC: It's been exhausting dodging the paparazzi and being chased by screaming teenagers, but otherwise things seem normal. AL: What have you enjoyed most about being selected and the publicity you have received? DC: I know it sounds corny, but the heartfelt cheers of my students at the reading was definitely the best thing. I think you can't make too much of these awards, because in a few years no one's going to remember them anyway. But it makes me happy and proud to know that my students and colleagues and friends are genuinely glad and excited for me. That's what I'll say if I win: "You like me! You really, really like me!" Chaon's first release, Fitting Ends and Other Stories, was published in 1996, and explores a cast of 20-somethings who choose to delay the sobering responsibilities of adulthood. His work has appeared in many journals and anthologies, including The Best American Short Stories, The Pushcart Prizes, and The O'Henry Awards: Prize Stories, and has been translated into several languages. Chaon's forthcoming novel, I Wake Up, will be published by Ballantine Books. Chaon is married to writer Sheila Schwartz. They have two sons and reside in Cleveland Heights.
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