Goin146; brokeback

8220;They always begin,8221; she complains, 8220;with the sentence 8216;I8217;m not gay, but8230;8217; They think that just because they are men, they understand men better than I do.8221; The story, says Proulx, 8220;was about homophobia in a place8221;.

After winning the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for her novel The Shipping News, set in Newfoundland, Proulx became a fixed star in the literary constellation, winning almost every prize a writer could win. She has often criticised the literary establishment for knowing nothing about what goes on in America outside its cities. She hates and generally refuses interviews. Her ferocity is literary legend, often cushioned by the phrase 8220;doesn8217;t suffer fools8221;.

No one in Saratoga knows her name. But they know Brokeback, and they know the piece of land she lives on8212;640 acres with a mile of riverfront on the lazy North Platte. The house is large and modern. But Proulx, 73, lives alone, although she has four grown children.

8220;As far as I know,8221; she says, 8220;they8217;ve never read a single one of my books. It8217;s not that we don8217;t get along, it8217;s just that we don8217;t talk about my writing.8221; She shoots a sideways look that says: 8220;End of discussion.8221; This look8212;and Proulx8217;s short, steely gray-brown hair, bright eyes, focused attention, utter lack of makeup or jewellery8212;is enough to make a person think twice before asking a personal question.

Proulx8217;s new book, Fine Just the Way It Is, is the third in an astringent triptych of Wyoming story collections, joining Close Range which includes Brokeback Mountain and Bad Dirt. The first of these books, Proulx explains, 8220;was a backhand swipe at the mythology of the West8212;the old beliefs that aren8217;t really true, like the idea that there are no homosexuals in Wyoming8221;.

In her fiction, she has shown more interest in men than women because, she explains, men in rural communities tend to be the ones who get out and do things. It8217;s also true that most of her friends are men. After three marriages and three divorces, she jokes about men: 8220;You can like 8216;em but it doesn8217;t mean you have to sample every single one.8221;

Proulx researches everyday lives along with bits of dialogue picked up in bars and restaurants. But there is an attendant problem: locals don8217;t always appreciate seeing themselves in fiction8217;s wobbly mirror. 8220;The downside of the writing life is that you are a constant observer of other people8217;s lives. I was always the one at parties standing against the wall,8221; she says.

Proulx8217;s first book appeared in 1988, when she was 53. These days, she complains of having no writing time. 8220;It8217;s hard to keep this place clean. I read with stupefaction of men who rise every morning and write until 2, then come downstairs to begin drinking.8221; Proulx will often work 16 hours a day. 8220;I love shaping things, pruning out the unnecessary, shaping unshapely sentences. After things are published I never read them again.8221;

Proulx prefers to write by hand, using the computer as 8220;a joinery device8221;. 8220;There8217;s something about the rhythm of writing on the page with a pen,8221; she says, 8220;that is richly fulfilling8212;like drawing a picture.8221;

In town, there are people who8217;ve read Proulx. Father Karl is one of them. 8220;I like her books8212;they get you to think about stereotypes.8221; Another woman says she8217;s heard of Proulx. 8220;You8217;d have to be reclusive to write those books,8221; she says.
_Susan Salter Reynolds, LATWP