Featured Interview With Steven McFadden
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Mass General Hospital in Boston is where I and my twin brother Michael arrived on a snowy December day, 1948. I remained a New Englander for the first 58 years of life, and now I am a New Mexican.
Journalism was my major at Boston University. As fate would have it, I was already the editor of a suburban weekly newspaper (The Watertown Sun) by the time I graduated in 1975. Since then it’s been one writing project after another, over a dozen nonfiction books as well.
My wife Elizabeth and I have both a dog (Amigo) and a cat (Lily) in our home. While both Amigo and Lily are adept nappers, they generally keep things lively for us as the days and nights unfurl.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
It’s hard for me to imagine a time when I was not an avid reader. Once I mastered “Dick and Jane” in first grade, I was off and busy turning pages. Haven’t slowed down.
In my 20s I started writing for The News, a weekly tabloid published by fellow journalism students at BU. The paper had been kicked off campus for telling the truth–one of the hazards of being a messenger–a badge of honor.
Since about 1990 I’ve made my way in the world not as an employee, but rather as an independent journalist, writing about the earth and spirit and our era of turbulent transition.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Right now I’m reading Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann. In general I read lots of books and papers on farming (agroecology), food, and the environment. At times I relax with mysteries (Michael Connelly, etc.), and science fiction.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
Native Knowings is a small-treasure, a 72-page compilation of passages from learned native elders I have known over my 48 years of reporting. It is a gift book, small but mighty nonfiction, as traditional knowledge keepers share teachings for all the people.
“I ask you to listen,
not just with your minds.
I ask you to listen with your hearts,
because that’s the only way
you can receive what it is,
what we are giving.
These are the teachings of our hearts.”
– Frank Decontie, Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg
Native Knowings is available on Amazon in both print and ebook versions: https://amzn.to/44O6Ehf
Thank you for your consideration, Steven
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