Melissa Pritchard, "The Carnation Milk Palace"

It’s December 21. Melissa Pritchard, author of Solemn Pleasure, teaches everyone at the party the latest dance craze.

How would you describe your story?

MELISSA PRITCHARD: Although I have heard “The Carnation Milk Palace” described as a coming-of-age story, I see it as an exorcism.

When did you write it, and how did the writing process compare to your other work?

MP: Between 2013 and 2015, I met monthly with three of my female graduate students for dinner and wine. We met in my home, our goal to support one another in our work, and each one of us benefitted from the space of trust we created. One night, I found myself, their professor, unexpectedly opening up about an incident that had occurred when I was fourteen, an incident I had never spoken about and one that seemed, on its surface, not all that terrible. Yet, for my adolescent self, it had been deeply scarring. I had always wanted to write a story about that night, but the memory of the experience stayed tightly locked within me. These young writers listened with such empathetic, intelligent presence, I felt something nearly physical release within me. Because of them, I was able to give myself permission to write “The Carnation Milk Palace.” The story would first be published in Ecotone and go on to win a Pushcart Prize, but most importantly, it healed an old wound.

What kind of research went into this story?

MP: I relied upon the memory of what actually happened along with artistic embellishment, expected lapses in traumatic memory and the fading nature of time.

What, to you, makes the short story a special form? What can it do that other forms of writing can’t?

MP: One can risk telling emotional truths behind the mask of fiction, plus the short story is a marvel of compression in that every word winds around and resonates with the others. Though I have written novels and essays, the short story remains my favorite form. I don’t have the patience a writer needs to work years and years on a novel, though I have done so, against the grain of temperament. My stories take three to six months—a measure of time I am content with.

Where should people go to learn more about you and your work?

MP: My website.

What’s the best gift you’ve ever been given?

MP: Life itself.

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