Ethan Canin is the author of two short story collections (Emperor of the Air & The Palace Thief) and a number of novels including his latest, A Doubter's Almanac. On today's show, Ethan discusses one of his favorite lines in literature (4:30), the state of contemporary fiction (14:30), and why he believes America has yet to learn how to teach English (23:00). Plus, Ethan reflects on the influence of Raymond Carver on writers of his generation (28:00), the types of characters he tends to consider in his work (31:00), and why he's trying to do "the difficult thing." (41:00) A Doubter's Almanac is available now by clicking here. Topics mentioned: A Doubter's Almanac by Ethan Canin Emperor of the Air by Ethan Canin Dreams of My Father by Barack Obama The Palace Thief  by Ethan Canin "A Silver Dish" by Saul Bellow The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein Moby Dick by Herman Melville The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow Tenth of December by George Saunders City of Thieves by David Benioff The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway Cathedral by Raymond Carver The Collected Stories of John Cheever by John Cheever America, America by Ethan Canin For Kings and Planets by Ethan Canin "When Einstein Was Wrong" by Jonah Bromwich Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman Sacred Hunger by Barry Unsworth The Deptford Trilogy by Robertson Davies "Bullet in the Brain" by Tobias Wolff Memoir from Antproof Case by Mark Helprin A Soldier of the Great War by Mark Helprin People mentioned: Ethan Canin Barack Obama Joe Fassler Harold Bloom David Foster Wallace Mark Leyner F. Scott Fitzgerald Raymond Carver Tess Gallagher Gordon Lish Michael Chabon Alice Munro Shakespeare Danielle Steel Elwood Reid Martin Amis Philip Roth William Kennedy The Moment is brought to you by A&E's hit series Bates Motel. Catch the new season when it returns Monday March 7th at 9 p.m. Eastern Time on A&E.  Email: themomentbk@gmail.com Twitter: @BrianKoppelman iTunes: itunes.com/themoment To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices