HILLARY LEFTWICH is the author of Ghosts Are Just Strangers Who Know How to Knock (Civil Coping Mechanisms/The Accomplices, 2019), which was voted one of Entropy’s “Best Fiction Books of 2019.” Her next book, Aura, will be published by Future Tense Books in 2022. She currently teaches writing in Denver, Colorado.
In our weekend reading: new writing by Lydia Kiesling, revisiting a J Dilla album, and more.
In our afternoon reading: thoughts on Blake Butler’s new novel, an interview with Gina Tron, and more.
In our afternoon reading: an interview with Sarah Gerard, the Firecracker Award winners, and more.
In our morning reading: interviews with Corinne Manning and Jenny Zhang, a look at the writings of Hervé Guibert, and more.
In our afternoon reading: reviews of books by Tina May Hall and Ilana Masad, an interview with Jenny Offill, and more.
In our morning reading: reviews of books by Jami Attenberg and Ben Lerner, an interview with Sarah Read, and more.
Hillary Leftwich has a knack for titles. Her new collection has arguably the best one I’ve encountered this year: Ghosts Are Just Strangers Who Know How to Knock. In it, she combines surreal fiction, sharply-composed poetry, and taut nonfiction into an unpredictable and compelling whole. In addition to her book, she’s also the person behind the reading series At the Inkwell Denver; in other words, Leftwich is someone who can approach literature from many sides. I talked with her via email about the range of work in her collection, literary kindred spirits, and her handling of class.