I have been absolutely gushing about The Dry Season since I finished it last week, and as a lover of Febos’s previous books was also pretty intrigued by how she handled territory from her life that she’d also visited in prior work. Thank you for sharing this comment about the 10 different people, which really resonated with me as a long-time keeper of private and public diaries.
Oh those interviews with fellow writers sound fun. What are your favorite questions to discuss?
My local Asian American bookstore is interested in doing an event with me and another AsAm comic creator talking craft, so I’m wondering about what to talk about more specifically.
With graphic novelist,/comics creators, I’m interested in how they approach their process and the relationship that has to the story they’re telling. Mike, for example, talked about casting models for his drawings and conducting interviews with community members about their lives, gradually creating a group of characters who represented composites of the people he interviewed and casting models based on what he thought they looked like. One of his models was even in the store that night. He could not have been more different from the character in certain ways, and he spoke of his own experiences as a queer immigrant from Mongolia.
I remember Marjane Satrapi, who wrote Persepolis, saying that she would write what she couldn’t draw and draw what she couldn’t write. So I try to think through that lens as I talk to them.
Oh wow, fascinating! Right, it would vary so much depending on what story they’re (we’re) telling. Hmm I should try to find a local GN/comics creator whose work is pretty different from mine to contrast for the convo. Thanks for the ideas, Alexander!
Loved reading this piece about the "I Novel" from Elif Batuman. Really came at the perfect time. And also, of course, your descriptions of eating and wandering in New York.
I have been absolutely gushing about The Dry Season since I finished it last week, and as a lover of Febos’s previous books was also pretty intrigued by how she handled territory from her life that she’d also visited in prior work. Thank you for sharing this comment about the 10 different people, which really resonated with me as a long-time keeper of private and public diaries.
Absolutely. It just was such a clear and beautiful way of articulating the approach to memory and selfhood.
Oh those interviews with fellow writers sound fun. What are your favorite questions to discuss?
My local Asian American bookstore is interested in doing an event with me and another AsAm comic creator talking craft, so I’m wondering about what to talk about more specifically.
Congrats on all the recognition you’re receiving!
You’re not actually obligated to be well rounded. The two of you could discuss mutual obsessions.
Thanks for countering that assumption. Good point! The energy can be infectious with a more focused offering. I’ll see who’s available and interested…
With graphic novelist,/comics creators, I’m interested in how they approach their process and the relationship that has to the story they’re telling. Mike, for example, talked about casting models for his drawings and conducting interviews with community members about their lives, gradually creating a group of characters who represented composites of the people he interviewed and casting models based on what he thought they looked like. One of his models was even in the store that night. He could not have been more different from the character in certain ways, and he spoke of his own experiences as a queer immigrant from Mongolia.
I remember Marjane Satrapi, who wrote Persepolis, saying that she would write what she couldn’t draw and draw what she couldn’t write. So I try to think through that lens as I talk to them.
Oh wow, fascinating! Right, it would vary so much depending on what story they’re (we’re) telling. Hmm I should try to find a local GN/comics creator whose work is pretty different from mine to contrast for the convo. Thanks for the ideas, Alexander!
Loved reading this piece about the "I Novel" from Elif Batuman. Really came at the perfect time. And also, of course, your descriptions of eating and wandering in New York.
Thank you. I especially loved the Italian restaurant dinner, it was like a funny beginning to a musical.