Writing is such intense, I mean really intense, cerebral work, it’s positively brain-scraping. The concentration is excessively demanding, requires such a full and strict attention, that I’ve always needed a counter-balance, that is, physically demanding work, which brings me into the garden.

I recently spoke with author Elizabeth Kirschner about her story collection, Because the Sky is a Thousand Soft Hurts, lyrical language, breaking points, gardening, and more.You can read the full interview here at Tiny Molecules.

I always packed and unpacked my books first, as these were my most beloved possessions. I couldn’t inhabit a new ratty apartment if books weren’t on the shelves, which says something, I believe, about my relationship to language. It was more important than my even rattier relationships to men.

Find out more about Elizabeth Kirschner on https://kirschnerwriter.com/. Elizabeth’s book Because the Sky is a Thousand Soft Hurts (June 2021) is available from Atmosphere Press.