Writing Our Obsessions
In conversation with novelist Michael Lowenthal.
Book Club for Writers discusses You Could Make This Place Beautiful
Thursday, April 25, 8-9:30 PM EST on Zoom
When one of her poems unexpectedly went viral, Maggie Smith’s life changed drastically. She penned a memoir about those life changes, and I think it’s the perfect fit for our book club: Smith grapples with the question of what a writer is to do with unanticipated fame. I’d love to have you there!
Paid newsletter subscribers will receive the book club Zoom link the day before the meeting!
For The Creative Independent, I spoke with Michael Lowenthal about the themes he explores in his writing.
Here are some of my favorite moments from our conversation about exploring our own obsessions in our writing.
🔎 EXAMINING THEMES FROM DIFFERENT ANGLES
“I know some artists seem to just have this incredibly wonderful scattershot view of the world and move around a lot, but I guess I’m not that way. I used to worry about it a lot and think that it was a mark against my character or my creative abilities that I was always repeating myself and looking through the same lens whenever I observe human drama. But the more I’ve thought about it, I just don’t think there’s any reason to apologize for one’s obsessions.”
🌎 WRITING BEYOND THE VISIBLE WORLD
“I love looking at any situation and trying to see that hidden dark matter that is exerting this huge gravitational force, even though it’s rarely acknowledged, and it’s not part of the visible world.”
☻ ENCOURAGING WRITERS TO EXPLORE THEIR THEMES
“I encourage people to hunker down in their obsessions but try to work on what it is that they don’t understand yet about what obsesses them. […] And this may sound contradictory, but I also encourage them to live in the gray areas and stay there so that, even if they think they know what they’re writing about or what their message is or what they believe, they can try to let go of some of that certainty and live in the half-lit, half-knowing world, and try to be surprised by the undersides of what they thought they believe and know.”
Read my full conversation with Michael, and while you’re at it, check out his wonderful books! My favorite is his most recent collection of short stories.
BOOK CLUB FOR WRITERS MEETS NEXT MONTH!
On Thursday, April 25, 8-9:30 PM EST, my Book Club for Writers will discuss Maggie Smith’s memoir You Could Make This Place Beautiful live on Zoom.
When one of her poems unexpectedly went viral, Maggie Smith’s life changed drastically. She penned a memoir about those life changes, and I think it’s the perfect fit for our book club: Smith grapples with the question of what a writer is to do with unanticipated fame. I’d love to have you there!
Paid newsletter subscribers will receive the book club Zoom link the day before the meeting!
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💛 Hurley
Always glad to see Michael Lowenthal's name pop up, and your conversation is laden with nuggets of brilliance!