How to introduce Ted Conover?

He’s a writer, perceptive and eloquent,
motivated by boundless curiosity. He’s a journalist who
pursues in-depth stories with unmatched tenacity. He’s an
intrepid traveler who once took a year off from college to live as a
railroad hobo.

A typical journalist assigned to cover illegal
immigration in America might fly to the Mexican border, interview a
few Homeland Security agents, file the story and hit the hotel bar by
6 pm.

When Mr. Conover grew interested in illegal
immigration, he went to Mexico, lived for a time in a village, then
traveled North alongside his Mexican friends. He risked his life by
paying a ‘Coyote’ to smuggle him across the Rio Grande,
then spent a season working as an illegal migrant in fruit orchards
from Florida to Idaho.

Finally, he returned to the library, placed his
personal experience in academic context and produced a carefully
balanced and evocative book that will not only make you think –
it will make you feel.

Most recently, Mr. Conover turned his eye to the
American prison system (excuse me, Department of Corrections). When
his initial request to shadow a guard was turned down, he signed up
for the job himself and worked for one year as a corrections officer
in New York’s notorious Sing Sing prison.

The resultant book, Newjack ,
was excerpted in the New Yorker and won the National Book Critics
Circle Award.

Ted Conover is one of my heroes. It was a great
honor to interview him, and I encourage all of you to check out his
work.

_________________________________________

Tim:

Mr. Conover, thanks so much for taking the time to
chat.

You started your writing career as a vagabond,
writing Rolling Nowhere after living for a time as a hobo. It seems that even when
you’re based in one place – whether it be Aspen or New
York – you approach the experience from the perspective of a
traveler, constantly exploring foreign ground.

Do you consider yourself a travel writer?

Ted:

Yes, if you accept that there is a traveler's
way to look at the world--as new, fresh, interesting, needing
interpretation, full of enlightening history. Full of people you might
gain something from striking up a conversation with. Wherever you Read More...