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Oz=20 Hears Voices, Splits $1 Million, Tells Leaders `Go to Hell'=20

Interview by Gwen Ackerman

March 5 (Bloomberg) -- If Amos=20 Oz had his way, he might never leave his cozy, = converted-garage=20 study, with its book-lined walls and windows opening onto a = yard of=20 lemon and cypress trees.

``It's like a yard in Jerusalem, especially in today's = weather,''=20 the Israeli author says with a fond smile for the city he = evoked in=20 his autobiography, ``A Tale of Love and Darkness.''

It's cold and rainy outside in the southern desert town = of Arad,=20 where Oz moved 21 years ago. The gas heater is on upstairs = and a=20 large cat lazes on the kitchen counter as Oz, 68, talks = about=20 character development, his railing at Israeli government = policies=20 and the $1 million Dan David Prize he won last month along = with=20 playwright Tom=20 Stoppard and filmmaker Atom=20 Egoyan.

Books in Hebrew, English and many other languages fill = the=20 floor-to-ceiling bookshelves in his study. It's among their = pages --=20 from Sherwood Anderson to Anton=20 Chekhov -- that he finds his inspiration to write, Oz = says.

The 24/7 cyberworld leaves him cold. He rarely answers = his cell=20 phone, refuses to have an e-mail address and says ``life is = too=20 short'' for the Internet.

``I enjoy communicating with strangers in the street, the = cafe,=20 the bus station -- but this is tete-a-tete and not the = abstract=20 communication of the Web,'' he says. ``Other than that, I = prefer to=20 be surrounded by my books and live with my books.''

The reclusive streak has served Oz well. He's so prolific = that he=20 has published 25 books in the past 40 years. He has no plans = to stop=20 any time soon.

Hearing Voices

Oz does go out every morning for a walk in the desert on = the=20 outskirts of Arad. Walking helps him ``knock into = proportion'' the=20 voices he hears in his head.

``Eventually those voices develop into characters,'' he = says,=20 ``and what they do to each other is the plot.''

Israel's Dan = David=20 Prize, which each year awards $1 million for an = outstanding=20 ``creative rendering of the past,'' honored Oz for = ``portraying=20 historical events while emphasizing the individual, and for = his=20 personal exploration of the tragic conflict between two = nations.''=20

Born in May 1939, Oz is nine years older than the land he = calls=20 home. ``Being an Israeli of my age is roughly the equivalent = of=20 being a 350-year-old American,'' he jokes. ``So you are = speaking to=20 a sage. Treat me with respect, please.''

`Go to Hell'

Far from a politically ambivalent writer, Oz is firmly=20 established in Israel's peace camp and advocates the = founding of a=20 Palestinian state alongside Israel. He publishes angry op-ed = pieces=20 ``telling my government to go to hell,'' as he puts it.

``There are certain things writers can see better than = other=20 people,'' he says. ``For example, imagining the other. How = does it=20 feel to be Palestinian? How does it feel to be a West Bank = settler?=20 This is what I do for a living. I get up in the morning, I = drink a=20 cup of coffee and I start asking myself, `What if I were = him?'''=20

Wearing a plaid sweater, he opens the door to guests = himself.=20 Though Oz has won more than a dozen awards and rubbed = shoulders with=20 famous men, there's no evidence of it in his study -- just a = sepia-toned photo of the author as a boy with his parents = and color=20 snaps of his own children.

``Prizes are very funny,'' he says. ``They give you a = prize for=20 something you would have done even if you had to pay a = penalty for=20 it. It is like giving you a prize for breathing air. Can you = not=20 inhale?''

He declines to discuss what he's working on now, though = he plans=20 to keep writing ``as long as I have it in me.''

``I was born into it,'' he says. ``Ever since I was five = or six I=20 was inventing little stories in my head and telling the = other kids=20 my stories. That was my way of impressing the girls -- and = perhaps=20 it still is.''

(Gwen Ackerman writes for Bloomberg News. The opinions = expressed=20 are her own.)

To contact the reporter on this story: Gwen=20 Ackerman in Jerusalem at gackerman@bloomberg.net=20

Last Updated: March 5, 2008 01:36 EST=20

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