A Memoir by Robert Roper
I first interviewed author Robert Roper in 2011, shortly after the publication of his Now the Drum of War: Walt Whitman and His Brothers in the Civil War, an empathic study packed with fresh insights about the Whitman family unit and the unique (and until now, under-appreciated) role that Walt’s mother, Louisa, played in supporting Walt’s work as a nurse during the Civil War. Drawing on visceral, earthy, and moving letters exchanged between Walt, Louisa, and Walt’s brother George (who served as a courageous Union officer), Roper’s lyrical narrative depicts both the Whitman saga and the extraordinary events of the time.
In 2015 we conducted a second in-depth interview, exploring Roper’s Nabokov in America: On the Road to Lolita – an Editor’s Choice pick in the New York Times Book Review and considered to be one of the best Nabokov biographies – which highlights the role that America played in shaping the life and prose of a literary giant.
In both his fiction and nonfiction, Roper’s narrative voice resonates with a lively charm, a piquant wit, and a lucid command of the language that never fails to draw the reader deeper into his spell. Reviewers have taken note of his “warmth and humor,” his “snappy style,” and his “learned, intense, yet approachable” manner. As I learned during our lengthy conversations, these qualities are authentic keynotes in Roper’s personality and aren’t just literary devices. The engaging intellect of the author, always framed by a modest sensibility and infectious humor, serves to make his writing vivid and compelling. This same rare admixture of empathy and insight is showcased in Roper’s work-in-progress, a memoir titled Chicago ’68, from which I’ve selected the following excerpts.
— Rob Couteau