Deb Olin Unferth

Deb Olin Unferth's new story collection is Wait Till You See Me Dance.

From her Q&A with Deborah Kalb:

Q: What themes do you see running through the whole collection?

A: I guess one thing I feel is something I write about a lot…is that there’s always someone trying to help someone else and being inadequate at it, or not supposed to do it….

I feel that’s in a lot of stories. It’s the way I’ve lived my life. My last book [Revolution] was about when I was 18 and went to Central America to try to join a revolution with my boyfriend. Now I run a prison program here in Texas…. How do I teach these people who are so different from me? It’s a bigger challenge than I’d thought.

I’m trying to help people and animals—I’m a vegan; it’s a huge thing in my life. Every time I try to help it ends up a mess [especially earlier on]--a lot is based on...[read on]

The Page 99 Test: Revolution.

--Marshal Zeringue