The Recession of the Self

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"There's a recession of the self, i think, what we call the self," he says. "The story actually, past a certain point, has things it wants to do, and you didn't put em there." In those moments where you are genuinely helpful to someone in need, or when you've got something that feels true, it just means there's less static,. like you're just bringing less, yes, static into your work.

George Saunders is the author of eleven books. His latest is A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life.

”I really have so much affection for being alive. I really enjoy it. And yet, I’m a little negative minded in a lot of ways too, like I really think things tend to be fucked up. ... To get that on the page—to sufficiently praise the loveliness of the world without being a sap, and also lacerate the world for being so goddamn mean—to do those in the same story would be a great aspiration. And I haven’t gotten there yet.”

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