The photographer Sally Mann grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the daughter of parents who not only didn’t have a TV but also had “withering contempt for anyone who did,” she says. That made books everything to her, and they still are. Mann’s memoir, with photos, is called “Hold Still.”
BOOKS: What was it like to have a mother who owned a bookstore?
MANN: It was great because I could go in there and meet interesting people. My main interest was finding boyfriends. I’d park myself in the bookstore and read with one eye on everyone coming in. I remember reading a Robert Bly book of poetry. I’d wear my beret and smoke my Gauloises.
BOOKS: Was there a book that pushed you toward photography?
MANN: I know this is cliché, but “The Family of Man,” the catalog for the exhibit Edward Steichen curated. I know it’s been ridiculed, but for a young child the issues those photos took on, such as racism and death, were important. There were even pictures of people having sex in there. I had it practically memorized.
BOOKS: Do you have a lot of photography books?
MANN: I have three libraries. As a gift a friend alphabetized and organized my main library of novels, history books, and nonfiction. Then I have a photo-book collection. Then there’s this nearly whole room of my childhood books. I’ve also got cookbooks and a big collection of horse-related books. Those are how-to veterinarian books and old horse books about bloodlines. I got called out by Ann Patchett for being a hoarder.
BOOKS: Which photo books do you look at the most?
MANN: Books like the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s exhibit catalog “Photography and the American Civil War.” If I need some inspiration, I go back to the 19th century.
BOOKS: Does your reading influence your work?
MANN: Yes, in a funny way. When I read something, I picture that scene in that detail. That becomes very similar to composing a photo in real life. Also, if you look at the way I take pictures, you can see that writers like William Styron and William Faulkner have influenced me.
BOOKS: What books really capture the South, in your opinion?
MANN: I’d have to say Peter Taylor’s best-known book, “A Summons to Memphis.” He’s an underestimated writer.
BOOKS: Who are some of your favorite writers?
MANN: My new favorite is Anthony Marra. This winter I read his “A Constellation of Vital Phenomena.” It’s set in Chechnya, a place I have no interest in whatsoever. It’s in the same category of Peter Matthiessen’s “Shadow Country.” I’m an insomniac. Maybe that goes with the hoarding. I read both of those books all night long. And at 4:30 in the morning when I finished them I started reading them over again. Another book I love and reread is Shirley Hazzard’s “The Transit of Venus.” It’s got a trick in it. There’s a little sentence in there when the protagonist runs into an opthalmologist. If you don’t read it carefully you won’t realize what happens on the last page.
BOOKS: Do you read mostly contemporary fiction?
MANN: Right at the moment I do, but I’ve binged on “Middlemarch.” I love Flaubert. I read “The Diary of a Napoleonic Foot Soldier” by Jakob Walter. This man survived umpteenth attempts to invade Russia. The descriptions are mind-boggling.
BOOKS: Do you have any reading habits?
MANN: When I read I take notes and underline things. So reading is a vigorous process for me, but I read in bed. My poor husband is trying to go to sleep, and I’m reaching over him to get the Post-it notes.
BOOKS: What’s on your to-read list?
MANN: A friend of mine gave me at least six of Barbara Kingsolver’s books. Barbara lives in Virginia, and this friend wants me to go meet her because Barbara suffers from insomnia, too, but she found a treatment that works. How can I ask Barbara about her doctor if I haven’t read all her books?
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