As the acclaimed author of iThe Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittmani and iA Lesson Before Dyingi, Ernest J. Gaines b. 1933 has been publishing stories and novels for more than sixty years. His brilliant portrayals of race, community, and culture in rural south Louisiana have made him one of the most respected and beloved living American writers. piErnest J. Gaines Conversations ibrings together the author's own thoughts and words in interviews that range from 1994 to 2017, discussing his life, his work, and his literary legacy. The interviews cover all of Gaines's works, including his two latest books, iMozart and Leadbelly Stories and Essays i2005 and iThe Tragedy of Brady Sims i2017. The book provides a retrospective of his work from the viewpoint of a senior writer, now eighty-five years old, and gives an important international perspective on Gaines and his work. pAmong the many things Gaines discusses in his interviews are the recurrent themes in his works the search for manhood, t