David Rocklin grew up in Chicago. He graduated from Indiana University with a BA in Literature. After attending law school, he pursued a career as an in-house attorney and continues to serve as a mediator. He lives in California with his wife and children. "The Luminist," his debut novel (literary/historical fiction), will be published in 2010 in the US (Hawthorne Books), Italy (Neri Pozza) and Israel (Kinnaret).
I think we all have a way of tying our experiences, our hopes, our memories and emotions wanted and unwanted, to some sort of vessel in order to make sense of them - or to make them resonate even more deeply than they already do. A memory is enhanced, or even informed, by a song or a movie scene. The beginnings of a cherished relationship belong not just to us, but to the city, the apartment window, the favorite restaurant, that served as the paving stones we walked while feeling it grow. For me, writing - my own, that of others - is and has been that vessel, that vehicle that allows me to see the world.
I am always moved by shimmering writing, more so than plot. The authors I've always admired, who can turn a beautifully lush or spare phrase into something that shines, are Faulkner, Steinbeck, Dickens (for the generosity of his writing, especially), and more recently, John Irving, Andrew Sean Greer, Richard Ford, Dom Delillo, Susan Taylor Chehak, Chang Rae Lee, Michael Chabon. Boy, I could really go on and on.
No one has written on David Rocklin's wall.
No one has written on David Rocklin's wall.