10 QUESTIONS FOR Marc Bekoff, co-author/co-founder with Jane Goodall

Author interview with Marc Bekoff

I’m Professor Emeritus at the University of Colorado,Boulder; I’ve published numerous books and articles for popular magazines and newspaper; details can be found at my homepage http://www.literati.net/Bekoff and also at the website for the organization that Jane Goodall and I cofounded, Ethologists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, www.ethologicalethics.org

1. Tell us about your latest book.

My latest book is Wild Justice: The Moral Lives of Animals (written with Jessica Pierce (http://jessicapierce.net/) – In this book we discuss the ample evidence for the claim that animals display cooperation, reciprocity, compassion, and empathy among themselves. A general description can be found at http://www.press.uchicago.edu/presssite/metadata.epl?mode=synopsis&bookkey=368323 and also at http://www.amazon.com/Wild-Justice-Moral-Lives-Animals/dp/0226041611/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1; reviews can be found in Bark Magazine, Discover Magazine, and New Scientist (http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227071.400-review-wild-justice-by-marc-bekoff-and-jessica-pierce.html) and at http://www.literati.net/Bekoff

2. How did you get started as a writer?

I began writing early in my academic career both for scientific and popular audiences and continued doing so because I love to write and inform people about what we know about animal behavior, animal cognition, animal emotions and sentience, and how they’re all related to animal protection

3. What does a typical day look like for you?

I get up around 4-5AM, eat a healthy breakfast (I’m pretty much a vegan), work until around 8 or so and then either ride my bicycle, hike, or ski until around noon – then I get back to writing and whatever else needs to be done … in the evening I’m happy to sit on my couch, watch a movie or read a book or do both at once and sip good red wine and eat twizzlers or dark chocolate or more than likely, both.

4. Describe your workspace.

I live in the mountains outside of Boulder, Colorado and have few human neighbors but many animal friends including black bears, cougars, red foxes, coyotes, bunnies, birds, lizards, and insects who all come to say hello … I have a separate unit/office that gets tons of sun and is spacious …

5. Favorite books (especially for writers)

I’m a voracious read so it’s hard to point to a favorite book – I mainly read spy novels and mysteries of varying quality – just terrible to award-winners – for relaxation – the can range from the mass market ultra-verbiage of Robert Ludlum to the elegant prose of John Le Carre .. I try to read as much as I can by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Pema Chodrin, and Charles Darwin

6. Tell us 3 interesting/crazy things about you

I love what I do and I love to be alive

I’m addicted to watching bicycle racing and tennis on TV while sipping good red wine and eating twizzlers and dark chocolate

I’m a very good multitasker and often at once amaze and confuse myself when there are a lot of cranial windows running simultaneously at full speed

7. Favorite quote

“In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst

into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be

thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.” Albert Schweitzer 

8. Best and worst part of being a writer

 

photo by Mike Weddle

 

 

Best is that I can make my own hours and pretty much write and read what I want

Worst is that I can make my own hours and pretty much write and read what I want

9. Advice for other writers

Don’t sit at your desk waiting for things to come … think a lot about what you’re trying to write, scribble on post-its and scrap paper, believe in yourself, and be passionate

10. Tell us a story about your writing experience. 

Many of my best ideas come to me when I’m away from my desk. The outline for my book Minding Animals came from a conversation I had with my companion dog Jethro on our morning hike and the ideas for Wild Justice and associated professional and popular articles came to me while I was watching dogs playing and trying to figure out how they kept everything in order – I often call myself on my mobile phone or send myself an email with ideas as they pop up because my when my mind is going some of the best ideas seem to evaporate in my brain to make room for new ones …

Where can people buy your books?

My books can be bought at many places on the web and at most bookstores.