Read to Know Basis: Heather McCalden
The author of The Observable Universe lets her work do the heavy lifting.
Read to Know Basis is a weekly interview series with authors. It features debut authors and established writers talking about reading, writing, and of course snacks. This series is free to all. If you like what you read considering subscribing to support the work of Unstacked, and of course go out and buy the book!
Heather McCalden is a multidisciplinary artist working with text, image, and movement. She is a graduate of the Royal College of Art and has been awarded residencies by the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and the Mahler & LeWitt Studios. The Observable Universe, winner of the Fitzcarraldo Editions Essay Prize, is her first book. She lives in New York City.
What are five words to describe your book?
Prismatic, Propulsive, Episodic, Engineered, Unconventional
What is the strangest thing you googled while researching/writing this book?
There was a true abundance of strange things I googled while writing this book. Some of the highlights include: “strange deaths involving animals,” “most damaging computer virus ever,” “why are people terrible,” “is the internet alive,” and “why do people think the internet is alive?”
What are three books that are in conversation with your book?
This is a somewhat difficult question as I wasn’t actively seeking conversation with other books – for better or worse. However, Joan Didion’s essay The White Album, Raymond Chandler’s The Long Goodbye, and T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets left deep impressions on me as a young reader and so inevitably, these texts reverberate inside my own – sometimes directly (as in the case with Chandler), sometimes indirectly (as with Eliot). The commonality across these works is an exploration of atmosphere, or the refraction of space through time.
Describe your ideal reader?
Either a person who craves a different experience of consuming literature, or one who wants to see our contemporary intake of information reflected and remixed on the page.
What is a piece of writing advice that you’ve received that you think is really bad? What is a piece of writing advice that you think is really good?
If I think something is bad/stupid I don’t commit it to memory unless it’s also funny (life is too short). Unfortunately, most bad writing advice tends to lean tragic.
I’ve taken these words of Annie Dillard to heart, “It is no less difficult to write sentences in a recipe than sentences in Moby-Dick. So you might as well write Moby-Dick.”
What has changed for you as a writer since becoming a published author The conversations I get to have and with whom. Being published creates a situation where I can interface with people through this thing I built, and suddenly I’m able to be more myself than I’ve ever been… it’s a bit difficult to explain but essentially the book does the heavy lifting of conveying my heart and experience so I don’t have to.
What are you reading right now? And what book are you desperate to read next?
Currently I’m reading Amanda Montell’s The Age of Magical Overthinking, and Hanif Abdurraqib’s There’s Always This Year. Though they sit at opposite ends of the nonfiction spectrum, both text offer insights into our contemporary situation as humans.
In terms of what I’m desperate for, I definitely need some fiction! I’m thinking Blackouts by Justin Torres will be next… although I’m also on pins and needles waiting to read Miranda July’s All Fours.
What book are you an evangelist for?
There are two works of nonfiction I’m absolutely nuts about. The first is called The Believer by Sarah Krasnostein. It examines the concept of belief from six different angles which range from the religious to the zany. I never thought reading about UFO enthusiasts could make me cry, and yet Krasnostein’s writing is so brutally incisive beauty just erupts through the experiences she documents as if by some sleight of hand.
The second work is called God, Human, Animal, Machine by Meghan O’Gieblyn, which essentially deconstructs notions of faith and humanity in our technological age. O’Gieblyn’s investigation of these topics is both academically and intellectually rigorous, however she splinters her own past as a religious believer throughout the conversation, creating a sober grit of prose that will get underneath your mind.
Who is your dream collaborator and what would you make?
If I could work with choreographer Bobbi Jene Smith on a dance solo/performance piece that would be just… WOW. Bobbi uses language to evoke textures and moods in the body in a way that resembles a sorcerer casting a spell on an inanimate object: it’s all in the words and how they are said that makes the (dance) magic happen.
And, if it’s possible to dream even bigger: working with Laurie Anderson on a performance piece.
Who is your literary crush?
How many am I allowed to have? Hanif Abdurraqib is definitely at the top of the list, but others include Peter Schjeldahl (RIP), Aaron Sorkin (West Wing era), Lauren Groff, Emily St. John Mandel, Raymond Chandler, Paul Thomas Anderson, Rivka Galchen, Rachel Syme, Brit Marling, I could go on forever… I guess I’m a “relationship anarchist” in this department?
If you could not be a writer what would you do?
A dermatologist or an astrophysicist.
You’re invited to a literary potluck, what are you bringing?
California sun-ripened oranges, gin, Campari, and Antica Formula Sweet Vermouth: I’m making negronis. A playlist will also be involved. Cheers!
Connect with Heather: Instagram | Website