The Essayist on Not Having a Career

Over the past thirty-five years, Geoff Dyer has written an extraordinary number of books and essays on a dizzying array of topics, including D. H. Lawrence, jazz, photography, the Battle of the Somme, the Soviet film Stalker, and life aboard an American aircraft carrier. In all of his work, Dyer integrates personal experience with critical analysis, constructing a distinctive authorial voice that is casual, yet commanding. One is drawn to Dyer’s books not necessarily because of what he is writing about, but because his relentless curiosity and inquisitive mind can turn any subject into an occasion for perceptive, stylish, and often very funny prose.