"The mission of a nonfiction writer is to get the damn thing done," says Wil Haygood, author of several books, including his latest The War Within A War: The Black Struggle in Vietnam and at Home.

I’m so thrilled to welcome back Wil Haygood to the show to talk about and celebrate his latest book The War Within a War: The Black Struggle in Vietnam and at Home. It’s published by Knopf.

Wil is one of the most accomplished journalists and authors working in American letters and just a good-ass dude. He’s the author of several books including The Butler (which was made into a movie), Showdown, The Harlem Renaissance, In Black and White, Sweet Thunder, and Colorization.

He and I both have ties to the Goucher College MFA in Creative Nonfiction Program and he was generous enough to blurb my first book, Six Weeks in Saratoga, and it’s those little things like that that can make an insecure, low-on-confidence person like myself feel like a king for a day.

Had a great time catching up with Wil. He was on the podcast back on Ep. 295 when I interviewed him as part of Goucher’s winter residency, so that’s a fun one to check out. When we spoke, the U.S. had just started bombing Iran in a senseless barrage of violence that appears to have been a monumental loss for the U.S., so that is some of the context of this conversation as we talk about Vietnam and how this country still wrestles with the legacy of it. Wil is one of the good ones and so happy you get to hear him chat about:

How he needs the research to be finished before he writes
Exploring the riddles of America
His encounters with the late great David Halberstam
How luck and fortune come into play
Shoeleather reporting
Tape recorders and notebooks
The stirring cover of this book
Why this country still grapples with the Vietnam War
Highlighting untold stories of women who served during Vietnam
And what kept him going through the doubt

Stick around for a parting shot Chuckanut conference prep and an update on the forthcoming audio magazine.

Episode 534: Shoeleather Reporting and Exploring the Riddles of America with Wil Haygood

The Creative Nonfiction Podcast with Brendan O'Meara

Episode 534: Shoeleather Reporting and Exploring the Riddles of America with Wil Haygood