Aimee Bender, "Oneness Plus One"
It's December 12. Aimee Bender, author of The Color Master and The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, knows that if you've got time to lean, you've got time to clean.
How would you describe your story?
AIMEE BENDER: Existential trash talk.
When did you write it, and how did the writing process compare to your other work?
AB: A number of years ago—maybe 2012? My usual process, which means following whatever seems to have some life in it (including lint).
What kind of research went into this story?
AB: Cleaning and not cleaning.
What, to you, makes the short story a special form? What can it do that other kinds of writing (novels, poems) can’t?
AB: Everything! It can do everything! There’s no budget, it can go internal and external, it can span time and also slow time, it is stunningly flexible.
Where can people go to learn more about you and your writing?
What's on your Christmas list this year?
AB: I’m Jewish, so no Christmas list for me. Being part of an advent calendar is pretty fun that way. Novel.
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