The Artist's Statement Davin Malasarn

Season 3, Episode 2, features K-Ming Chang. She is the author of debut novel Bestiary, short story collection Gods of Want, and her latest novel, Organ Meats, her third book in what she describes as mythic tryptich, published by One World/Random House. 
Chang is a Kundiman fellow, a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree, and an O. Henry Prize Winner.
In this conversation, we discuss her evolving view of books and the characters she gives agency to. We delve into her earliest writing experiences and how she keeps in touch with those childhood inspirations. We also explore her use of language as a driving force for her writing and how she is finding counter-narratives for the creative process.
Chang discusses her inspirations, including Maxine Hong Kingston, Dorothy Allison, and Justin Torres. She reads from Gods of Want and Organ Meats.

Host: Davin Malasarn

---

Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-artists-statement/message

Season 3, Episode 1, features poet Denton Loving. He is the author of two poetry collections, Crimes Against Birds, published by Main Street Rag in 2014, and his new book, Tamp, published by Mercer University Press earlier this year. Set in Appalachia,Tamp's central theme focuses on the grief and sense of loss that followed the death of Loving’s father. He also explores ancestry, religion, and our interactions with both the natural and dream worlds.

Loving’s work has appeared in River Styx, Iron Horse Literary Review, The Chattahoochee Review among other journals. He earned his MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars and has received scholarships and fellowships from organizations such as the Eckerd College Writers Conference and the Key West Literary Seminars.

For over a decade, he co-directed the Mountain Heritage Literary Festival at Lincoln Memorial University where he also co-edited drafthorse: the literary journal of work and no work. He’s also a co-founder and editor at EastOver Press and its literary journal Cutleaf. 



Loving reads "The Fence Builder," "Genealogy," "A Love Poem about an Exploding Cow," "Hag Stone, Hex Stone, Holy Stone," and "There is a barn."



Host: Davin Malasarn. Music by Joe Rivers. Artwork by Ayumi Takahashi.



The Artist's Statement is brought to you by The Granum Foundation.


---

Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-artists-statement/message

Season 2, Episode 3 brings you poet and inaugural Granum Foundation Prize winner, Nicole Sealey. We begin the discussion with Sealey's earlier works, The Animal After Whom Other Animals Are Named (Northwestern University Press, 2016) and Ordinary Beast
(Ecco, 2017). Sealey recounts her editorial decisions in her first publications, and how they sparked ideas for new work. We also explore her sources of inspiration, including a conversation with her mother, and the role of form in propelling her creations. In the second half of the episode, we discuss her award winning project, "The Ferguson Report: An Erasure," which she describes as "a lyric lamentation on police brutality." The book adapts the pages of the Department of Justice’s 2015 report, which details bias policing and court practices in Ferguson, Missouri, to create an evocative poem that strives to bring to life the stories of those who have suffered from them. 

She reads "Candelabra with Heads," "In Defense of Candelabra with Heads," "The First Person Who Will Live to Be One Hundred and Fifty Years Old Has Already Been Born," and "Object Permanence." Sealey also provides a preview from "The Ferguson Report: An Erasure."


---

Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-artists-statement/message

Season 2, Episode 2 features Julie Otsuka, best-selling author of When the Emperor Was Divine, The Buddha in the Attic, and her latest novel, The Swimmers. We discuss the inspiration and evolution of The Swimmers, and some of the technical challenges associated with Otsuka's frequent use of the first person plural point of view. She discusses how she became a writer and her work routines, including how they have changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also explore how Otsuka relies on intuition and intellect to create her work. 

In this interview, Otsuka reads excerpts from The Swimmers, including the opening pages and a selection from her chapter entitled "Belavista."

Host: Davin Malasarn. Music by Joe Rivers. Artwork by Ayumi Takahashi.

The Artist's Statement is brought to you by The Granum Foundation. Visit us at granumfoundation.org.


---

Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-artists-statement/message

Season 2 of The Artist's Statement opens with journalist, essayist, and novelist, Ben Ehrenreich, winner of a 2021 American Book Award for his non-fiction work Desert Notebooks: A Roadmap for the End of Time. Ehrenreich discusses the inspiration for this poignant book that followed his time in Palestine and his return to American society under the presidency of Donald Trump. Beginning in the awe-inspiring landscapes of Joshua Tree National Park and moving to the alternative desert of Las Vegas, Ehrenreich reflects on our perceptions of time in the face of change and trauma. He draws on the ancient texts of Mayan, Greek, and Roman civilizations to argue against the myth of inevitable progress. Ehrenreich also talks about his own writing career and his hopes for the future. 

In this interview, Ehrenreich reads an excerpt from Desert Notebooks.

Host: Davin Malasarn. Music by Joe Rivers. Artwork by Ayumi Takahashi.

The Artist's Statement is brought to you by The Granum Foundation. Visit us at granumfoundation.org. 


---

Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-artists-statement/message

In Episode 10 of The Artist's Statement, we chat with Claire Vaye Watkins, author of three works of fiction, including her latest novel, I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness (Riverhead, 2021). Watkins discusses the blurred boundaries between fiction and fact in her new work, and the story threads she brought together to complete it. We explore the impact of her viral essay "On Pandering" and her evolving relationship with writing, and how the influence of classical works can both help and hinder creativity. Watkins shares how she came to work with her agent, Nicole Aragi. She also offers her insights for students as they complete their first major projects.

In this interview, Watkins reads excerpts from I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness.

Host: Davin Malasarn

The Artist's Statement is brought to you by The Granum Foundation.


---

Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-artists-statement/message