Ames Patch Q&A with Dean Bakopoulos

Dean Bakopoulos, Iowa State University assistant English professor's first book “Please Don’t Come Back From the Moon.” was named a New York Times Notable Book. His second novel "My American Unhappiness." was named the No. # 1 title to pick up for June by O, The Oprah Magazine and received a full page review in the New York Tmes. "My American Unhappiness." follows the journey of Zeke Pappas, a 33-year-old scholar who attempts to discover why people are so unhappy and find for a mate so that he can gain custody of his orphaned nieces.

 

Ames Patch: Tell me a little bit about yourself and your background. How did you come to Iowa State and become a published author?

Dean Bakopoulos: I grew up unremarkably in the Detroit area, part of the downwardly mobile broken-home crew and although I was a good student, I had no idea I would ever be a writer or a professor. I wanted to be a writer, desperately, but I didn't think it was something you could just decide to do. I figured I'd go to law school or into advertising or something. But during college at the University of Michigan, I knew I had the bug. Nothing else but a literary life would do, and that was exciting and overwhelming all at once.  I sort of got "discovered" by my  agent while working in an indie bookstore in Madison, Wisconsin, a few years out of college,  and she made the rest of the moves look easy.

I came to Iowa State in order to join the MFA faculty in creative writing & environment in the English Department, because I loved the mission of the program, and because my best pal, Ben Percy, was on faculty here and I loved the idea of working with him on building a top rate program. I'm going on leave in the fall however, to spend some time teaching at Grinnell College down the road a bit.
 

Ames Patch: What was the inspiration for your second novel “My American Unhappiness”?

Bakopoulos: The last ten years of American decline--environmental, political, economic, and cultural--coupled with what I believe is the essentially beautiful spirit of American optimism and resilience, even when optimism seems to be an unwise approach.

Ames Patch: What message are you trying to send?

Bakopoulos: Life is hard, and when you're lonely, it's even harder. This is also a novel about the hangover effect we feel now in America, after decades of runaway spending and acquiescence to corporate control, we're a bit out of sorts and at a loss for ways to sustain the kinds of things we once took for granted.

Ames Patch: How closely do you identify with the main character? Where do your characters come from how do you create them?

Bakopoulos: I identify with Zeke, the novel's protagonist, in some ways--mainly that I think he wants to be a good, honest man but his impulses and his ego keep pushing him in the other direction.I think that's true of everybody. My characters are people I hear in my brain, they talk and talk and eventually I find a story for them to tell.

Ames Patch: Did you read the NYT Book Review? Did you find it encouraging, discouraging why?

Bakopoulos: Yes, I read it. It was encouraging in the sense that less than one percent of the novels published in the world get full page Sunday reviews in the New York Times, and I've had both my books reviewed there. The first book received a very favorable review. The second book received a more mixed response, though the critic had some nice things to say. Still,  I don't think the critic really handled the review all that fairly. That was disappointing. It felt as if maybe he had some other scores to settle, to settle in an arrogant fashion, and the review of my book became a platform for those scores. This might be sour grapes.

Writers don't like negative reviews. This is not news. I recently resumed working out and lifting weights. I think about that review on the treadmill or bench press a lot. It's like Rocky losing a match. It puts a fire in your belly. You know, I also review books for the NY Times and I am sure I've made some enemies from those reviews. I've also became good friends with someone after I reviewed his work. It's a small world, publishing. You serve up a (explicative deleted) sandwich, someday you're going to meet the person you served it to and it will be awkward and ugly.

Ames Patch: How does the reception compare to your first book, “Please Don’t Come Back From the Moon”?

Bakopoulos: Other than one or two small time critics, my first book received amazing reviews, from the Economist to People to the New York Times and LA Times. I was thrilled by that. But second novels get more scrutiny, I think, and I chose to try something much different this time out, and perhaps it was much too challenging for my talent level, according to some people. After the New York Times review, though, I learned something. Don't read your reviews if you want to be loved by everyone. Because you never will be.

Ames Patch: Who are your favorite authors, what are your favorite books?

Bakopoulos: It varies, because I am an obsessive reader and I have a new favorite each month. Currently: Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" is occupying my imagination. I also love Chekhov, Marquez, Cheever, Richard Russo, Jim Harrison, Lorrie Moore, Grace Paley--writers who can balance the humorous and the magical with some very dark undercurrents that feel true, rather than gratuitously dark.

Ames Patch: What are you currently working on?

Bakopoulos: A young adult novel entitled "Maple Rock" and an adult novel that I describe as a multi-character, magical odyssey through southwest Wisconsin and the several dimensions that surround it.