(Photo courtesy of Maine Women) “Elizabeth Strout”

Nicholas Rossi

Connector Contributor

Pulitzer Prize winner and best-selling author Elizabeth Strout sat down in front of a large crowd in Mahoney Hall’s Comley Lane Theater at UMass Lowell on Oct. 30, 2024, to talk about her career and her newest book “Tell Me Everything”. Strout was joined by bestselling author and UMass Lowell English department faculty member Andre Dubus III, who asked her questions about her craft, her characters and the many inspirations behind her well-known catalogue of critically acclaimed and award-winning books.

A wide range of people filled the seats in the theater as UMass Lowell students, professors or fans not affiliated with the school. Starting at 5:30 p.m., with a brief introduction from UMass Lowell English faculty member Maureen Stanton, Strout and Dubus walked out on stage to a table with two elegant high back chairs surrounding it. The conversation that ensued gave the audience insight into Strout’s mind and sense of humor, showing how she considers her readers every time she writes and how things like landscape inspire her writing.

“I’m always thinking about the reader. I’m always writing for a reader,” said Strout, who went on to explain how each time she writes, the experience of her reader is in the forefront of her mind. “The reader sits across from me, and the reader has no gender, but is a presence, and the reader is patient, but not super patient…and interested but not desperately interested.”

Strout showed the audience that her writing is not mechanical and that it isn’t solely something she does for herself, but rather how she makes a conscious effort to ensure that those who read her work are engaged, stimulated, and satisfied. Strout explained how she uses weather and landscape throughout her work to give the reader a break from the drama of the story and how she uses drama to balance out her description of the landscapes.

“Weather is so important to us, and I didn’t know you could write about it in an interesting way,” said Strout, when explaining how she initially realized she could use the elements to enhance her writing and the reader’s experience.

“It’s my job as I write to give this reader something that is worth the reader’s while. A part of that includes thinking. ‘Has there been too much noise on the page? Has there been too much noise in this book? Do they need their eyes to rest on landscape?” Strout said. “Then if there is too much landscape, let’s have a little snap, crackle, pop or something,” Strout said, referring to the pops of action she fits in between her use of landscape in her writing.

“It works beautifully,” said Dubus.

“Well it’s because I’m thinking, and always keeping the reader in mind. Always.” Strout said.

“Tell Me Everything”, which was released Sept. 10, 2024, is Strout’s newest novel and was selected as Oprah’s Book Club winner and has already made it on to the New York Time’s Best Seller list. Taking place in the fictional town of Crosby, Maine, “Tell Me Everything” is the story of a murder and its investigation as it surrounds some of Strout’s most well-known characters.

Strout brings Olive Kitteridge, Lucy Barton and Bob Burgess together in “Tell Me Everything.” all whom she has previously written about in their own prospective books. Strout says this book is about the unrecorded events in our lives that nobody hears but are so valuable and rich. “What parts of yourself are in there that nobody gets into see?” Strout says she asks herself as she writes. “That’s what is always interesting to me. I’m just so interested in ordinary people. But they’re not ordinary. Nobody is ordinary. Really, truly. The older I get the more I realize, wow, the stories people have are extraordinary.”

“Tell Me Everything” reflects Strout’s fascination with the unknown happenings of everyday people and their experiences. Much of the book deals with conversations between the characters that reveal things about their lives and their internal worlds, which causes the reader to reflect on their own unrecorded life experiences.

“The stories that Olive and Lucy tell each other in Olive’s apartment are extraordinary,” said Dubus as he referred to the scenes in “Tell Me Everything”. “They find themselves really just telling stories about people who will never have the story recorded.”

After sharing her writing process and the inspiration for “Tell Me Everything”, Strout left the aspiring writers in the audience with her best bit of advice. “I can only say that if you really know that you are a writer then just don’t stop. You’re gonna have to go through rejections, and that’s the story.” The crowd laughed as Strout added, “But don’t stop.”