“New journalism” icon Gay Talese has faced scrutiny this past week for failing to cite a single female writer who inspired him.
At “The Power of Narrative” conference at Boston University, Talese also claimed female writers are uninterested in “uneducated” or “anti-social” subjects, according to the Washington Post.
"I didn't know any women writers that I loved" -Gay Talese. Asked abt Joan Didion and said no, didn't report on antisocial ppl #narrativeBU
— Andrea Swalec (@andreaswalec) April 2, 2016
The latest among those speaking out was Tina Fey, who, in an email interview with the Associated Press about the success of her collection of essays, “Bossypants,” threw in a last-second jab at Talese.
Asked for nonfiction recommendations, Fey answered, “I enjoyed Diane Von Furstenberg’s autobiography. I loved ‘Americanah’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I’m currently reading ‘Dinosaurs in the Attic’ — non-fiction about the American Museum of Natural History.”
She clarified, however, “Nothing by Gay Talese has moved me.”
