Listen to the Richard Adams interview with Don Swaim in RealAudio on Wired for Books Richard Adams, author of Watership Down, The Plague Dogs, Maia, and Shardik, talks with Don Swaim in this 1985 interview. Adams credits his entire writing career to fellow author, Joseph Campbell and Campbell’s book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, which synthesizes the common themes a hero faces throughout world mythology.
Adams did not start writing until he was in his forties, but he had always been a storyteller, which he explains is one of the oldest professions in the world. His father told stories to him and eventually he began telling stories to his children. After years of private storytelling, Adams’ children prompted him to write down his stories and Watership Down was born.