The Lives of Writers

Michael talks with Amy Barnes about her life of writing, the influence of fairy tales, literalizing metaphor, the flash fiction form, her collection AMRBOTYPES (Word West Press), the ways in which the words get on the page, and more.Amy Barnes is the author of the flash fiction collection AMBROTYPES (Word West Press) and the chapbooks Mother Figures and Clean up on Aisle Five. She edits for a variety of literary magazines, including Fractured Lit, Gone Lawn, and Ruby Literary. Podcast theme: DJ Garlik & Bertholet's "Special Sause" used with permission from Bertholet.

Michael talks with Susannah Q. Pratt about convincing her family to attempt not buying new things for a year, feeling overwhelmed by objects in the home, the commerce systems that wrap into our lives, the way the things we own might either define or confine us, writing into ambiguity, the way this all connects to her first book MORE OR LESS, and much more.Susannah Q. Pratt is the author of More or Less: Essays from a Year of No Buying  (EastOver Press, 2022). Her work has appeared previously in Literary Mama, Motherwell, The Mindful Word, Chicago Parent, Under the Gum Tree, Essay Daily, The Week, and More. She lives in the Chicago area.Podcast theme: DJ Garlik & Bertholet's "Special Sause" used with permission from Bertholet.

Guest host Mike Nagel talks with Graham Irvin about donating sperm, getting into reading and writing in high school, the influence of Burroughs and Brautigan, his first book LIVER MUSH (Back Patio Press), Jack Handey, the thematic glue or arc of a poetry book, books changing as life changes, and more.Graham Irvin is the author of Liver Mush (Back Patio Press). He grew up in North Carolina and lives in Philadelphia, and you can follow him on Twitter at @grahamjirvin.Podcast theme: Dj Garlik & Bertholet's "Special Sause" used with permission from Bertholet.

Michael talks with Mike Ingram about co-founding Barrelhouse, co-hosting the Book Fight podcast, attention, the evolution of his creative nonfiction book NOTES FROM THE ROAD, a novel in progress, the constraints of cnf vs the novel, and more.Mike Ingram is the author of Notes from the Road (Awst Press). He's a co-founding editor of the literary magazine Barrelhouse and the co-host of the literary podcast Book Fight. He teaches at Temple University.Podcast theme: DJ Garlik & Bertholet's "Special Sause" used with permission from Bertholet.  

Michael talks with Scott Mitchel May about moving back to the midwest, working as political staffer, writing novels as practice to write more novels, The World According to Garp, his first story collection, ads on podcasts, book length, and more.Scott Mitchel May is the author of the story collection Dekalb, Illinois Is a Paradise What Eats Its Own. His stories have appeared in Rejection Letters, The Daily Drunk, Maudlin House, Bending Genres, and elsewhere. He lives in Wisconsin.Podcast theme: DJ Garlik & Bertholet's "Special Sause" used with permission from Bertholet. 

Michael talks with Sara Rauch about the imaginative properties of creative nonfiction, writing into questions without answers, writing about affairs and heartbreak, the making of the second Autofocus book XO, trying to connect everything and make it mean something, dealing with the reality of with putting very personal writing into the world, and more.Sara Rauch is the author XO, the second book published by Autofocus, which is out today, so go check that out. She is also the author of What Shines from It: Stories, which won the Electric Book Award for Alternating Current Press. She lives in Massachusetts with her family.Podcast theme: DJ Garlik & Bertholet's "Special Sause" used with permission from Bertholet.

Michael talks with Shane Kowalski about working at the post office, reading tastes changing, keeping a daily fiction blog for ten years, his collection of fiction SMALL MOODS, writing weird stuff in a traditional program, the daring use of ellipsis, and more.Shane Kowalski is the author of the full-length fiction collection Small Moods (Future Tense, 2022) and the chapbooks Dog Understander (Frontier Slumber Press) and How I Solve How I Feel (Ghost City Press). He lives outside of Philadelphia.Podcast theme: DJ Garlik & Bertholet's "Special Sause" used with permission from Bertholet.

Michael talks with Cynthia Arrieu-King about filling blank books as a kid, quilting, her creative nonfiction book THE BETWEENS, writing about race, taking breaks, collaging anecdotes on a theme, and much more.Cynthia Arrieu-King is the author of four books of poetry, including Futureless Languages (Radiator Press, 2018) and Continuity (Octopus Books, 2021), in addition to the literary nonfiction book The Betweens, which also came out last year with Noemi Press.Podcast theme: DJ Garlik & Bertholet's "Special Sause" used with permission from Bertholet.

Michael talks with DeMisty Bellinger about learning to read early, taking the love of a literature to a phD, the development of her forthcoming novel NEW TO LIBERTY, her poetry collection PECULIAR HERITAGE, the degree to which all writing is personal, coming to the page to write a poem, writing from reading, and more.DeMisty Bellinger is the author of the chapbook Rubbing Elbows (Finishing Line Press), the poetry collection Peculiar Heritage (Mason Jar Press), and the forthcoming  novel New to Liberty (Unnamed Press), which is now available for preorder. Besides writing, she is a poetry editor at Malarkey Books, an alumni reader at Prairie Schooner, and a professor at Fitchburg State University.Podcast theme: DJ Garlik & Bertholet's "Special Sause" used with permission from Bertholet.

Michael talks with Colleen Kinder about living in several different countries, navigating new environments with a toddler, the roots of her love of reading, writing, and travel, the genesis of Off Assignment, editing the anthology LETTER TO A STRANGER, the effect of direct address for a reader and writer, her memoir-in-progress, and more.Colleen Kinder is an essayist whose work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, A Public Space, National Geographic Traveler, and many other magazines. She is a cofounder of Off Assignment and the editor of the anthology Letter to A Stranger: Essays to the Ones Who Haunt Us, which is out from Algonquin Books on March 22.Podcast theme:  DJ Garlik & Bertholet's "Special Sause" used with permission from Bertholet.