15 Questions with Gregory Maguire
Even the least literary among the Harvard set are likely to be familiar with the wildly successful novel-turned-phenomenon “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.” Few, however, know as much about the man behind the legend, Gregory Maguire. When the fantasy-fiction author made a pit stop at the Harvard Book Store to chat about his new venture into Oz, “A Lion Among Men,” FM took the opportunity to sit down and chat about the perks and pitfalls of writing in a fantasy world.
1.
Fifteen Minutes (FM): What is your favorite fairy tale?
Gregory Maguire (GM): I think it is probably Rapunzel, and I haven’t done Rapunzel yet—which I think is interesting. Maybe I never will, because it is my favorite.
2.
FM: What is your motivation to write revised fairy tales?
GM: I wanted to write books of ideas that people would read; I used fairy tales as a kind of bait and switch. I thought readers would think it would be relaxing, and they would not have to work too hard. But I also hope that without actually even noticing it, you have to think about the things that I have written about—the themes. I write books primarily about the themes and not about the plot.
3.
FM: Is it hard to update a story that everyone already knows? Do people get angry when you switch things on them?
GM: They do, but I love it when people get mad. I like irritating people—up to the point where they go out and buy a gun, then I don’t like it anymore.
4.
FM: Your narratives twist well-known fairy tales. Which came first: your stories, “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs,” or “Shrek?”
GM: I think “Shrek” came first.
5.
FM: Out of all the characters in your books, who is your favorite?
GM: I have to say that I like Elphaba, but once saw Kristen D. Chenoweth playing Glinda on the stage I went back and read Glinda and I thought, “Did I write her that funny?”
6.
FM: Do you get free tickets to the musical “Wicked,” which is based on your novel?
GM: No. I don’t even get a discount. Luckily I can afford it.
7.
FM: Word is that “Wicked” the musical is going to be made into a movie. Are you planning to play a role in that?
GM: Well, I had forgotten to sign up for auditions. They are making it into a movie but it won’t be anytime soon. They are waiting three or four years for that.
8.
FM: Are you hoping to work on the screenplay for that?
GM: No, I am hoping to stay far away from that. The play was successful because I let the theater people take over. I probably will let the movie people takeover. However, I would like to play a role.
9.
FM: Who will be the feature of the next book?
GM: Glinda is going to be the centerpiece, I think, of the fourth and final book in the series. It will be about a central theme—I just have to figure out what it is.
10.
FM: Which fairy tale character would you most like to meet?
GM: One of the evil queens, preferably one with a really good sense of style.
11.
FM: Who in real life is going to have a fairy tale made about them 500 years from now?
GM: Living?
12.
FM: Living or recently deceased.
GM: Well it is hard for me to think that people will ever stop being fascinated by Virginia Woolf. And the further we get from that extremely class-bound society, the more like a queen she will seem. “Queen Woolf,” what a great name for a book.
13.
FM: You have said that your stories are rife with political meaning. Does that come from “The Wizard of Oz” or you as an author?
GM: I think that “The Wizard of Oz” more or less side-stepped a lot of social implications, I think it was all about pulling yourself up by the bootstraps and did not pay too much attention to anybody in Oz who might not have bootstraps with which to pull himself or herself up.
14.
FM: Do any of your characters have real life counterparts?
GM: The character Shell, by the time I got to “Son of a Witch,” is sort of a pastiche of President George W. Bush.
15.
FM: Is your goal to encourage adult reading and bring back childhood?
GM: Absolutely, and we should love to read. We should pick something up and say, “Oh I can’t believe I have this, oh how great!” That is how we should want to feel about our books, and that is what I hope people feel about my books.