The Lives of Writers

Claire Donato [Host: Jeff Alessandrelli]

Episode Summary

Jeff Alessandrelli interviews Claire Donato. Topics include: writing desks, publishing young, music, writing and not writing, KIND MIRRORS, UGLY GHOSTS, MFK Fisher, friendships in literature and adulthood, psychoanalysis, and more.

Episode Notes

On today's episode of The Lives of Writers, Jeff Alessandrelli interviews Claire Donato.

Claire Donato is the author of Burial, a fiction novella, and The Second Body, a full-length collection of poems, and most recently Kind Mirrors, Ugly Ghosts, a collection of fiction. Currently, she works as Acting Chairperson of Writing at Pratt Institute, where she received the 2020-2021 Distinguished Teacher Award.   

Jeff Alessandrelli is the author of several books, including the poetry collection Fur Not Light. His novel And Yet is being reissued this year by Future Tense Books. He is also the director and co-editor of the small presses Fonograf Editions and Bunny Presse.

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PART ONE topics include:

-- writing desks and locations

-- being a "legend of underground literature"

-- starting to publish young

-- a music background

-- writing and not writing

-- thinking about selling a book

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PART TWO topics include:

-- Claire's new book Kind Mirrors, Ugly Ghosts

--"fauxtofiction" and autofiction

-- MFK Fisher

-- cooking and co-ops

-- friendships in literature

-- friendships in adulthood

-- psychoanalysis

-- publishing with a bigger press

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Podcast theme music  by Mike Nagel, author of Duplex and Culdesac. Here's his music project: Yeah Yeah Cool Cool.

The Lives of Writers is edited and produced by Michael Wheaton.