Eye to Eye: Oakley Hall
an interview by Susan D. Rock
photo by Joy Strotz
Author Oakley Hall, who cofounded the Squaw Valley Community of Writers 38 years ago has penned 15 novels, 11 mysteries and 2 books on the writing process. Two of his works — Pulitzer prize finalist Warlock and The Downhill Racers — were made into major motion pictures.
Hall, who received his masters in fine arts in creative writing from the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop, served as director of writing programs at the University of California, Irvine for two decades. His many literary honors include lifetime achievement awards from the PEN Center LSA and the Cowboy Hall of Fame, and the Poets & Writers magazine's Writers for Writers Award. His latest novel, Love and War in California, was just published by Thomas Dunne Books.
How far back does your relationship with Tahoe go, and how much time do you spend here now?
All her life, my wife's family had a cabin at Tahoe Pines, which we would come up to every year in August. One year, we came over to Squaw Valley and found lots for sale. We built just before the Olympics and lived in Squaw full-time for many years. These last few years, we've spent summers in Squaw and winters in San Francisco or Nevada City.
What inspired you to start the Squaw Valley Community of Writers?
Blair Fuller and I started the Community of Writers in l969 after a year of discussing it. There weren't many writers' conferences at that time, but I'd been to one at Antioch College and was impressed. At the time, West Coast writers rarely saw their agents or editors unless they went to New York City.
A conference in Squaw would bring agents, editors and writer friends west for what we envisioned as a big party with a few participants to pay for it. After a year or so, we discovered that we were actually helping turn young writers into authors, and we got serious. We chose Squaw for the conference, because we both had homes in the valley and John Buchman, of sainted memory, manager of the ski resort, was our friend and would help out with conference spaces.
The Squaw Valley Community of Writers workshops have expanded considerably over the years. What's it like to watch them evolve?
I've had a lot of pride watching my baby grow up. My daughter, Brett Hall Jones, now runs it. She and Kaitlin Klaussen, who made sandwiches for the conference when they were eight or ten, are now general director and housing director, respectively. Brett's a lot better administrator than I ever was.
Your novels focus on the American West. Is there a Tahoe connection?
I don't know if my Westerns had much to do with Squaw except for scenery. I'd written what is considered my best Western, Warlock, before coming to Tahoe.
What was it like seeing your novels make the leap to screen — Warlock starring Henry Fonda and Downhill Racer with Robert Redford?
It was a thrill to see Henry Fonda in Western regalia just walking down a street in Warlock. You could see his whole character, reputation and renown wrapped around him like a cloak. In Downhill Racer, it was fun watching Redford (who skied in the film) stemming because he was going too fast.
Your children have followed you down the literary/ artistic path. Is that nature or nurture at work?
Well, they have followed my tracks a bit. We are an intellectual family and have celebrated creativity. When Dad was lying on the couch reading Time magazine, he pretended he was working. I guess it looked simple.
What are you currently at work on?
I'm not working on anything at the moment, as I am about to go on book tour for my new novel, Love and War in California, which came out April 17. After that, I will continue work on a project I started a couple of years ago, discussing the novels that affected my thinking about fiction as I was learning my craft.
Originally published in TQ Summer 2007