“Most of My Work Unsettles Me”: An Interview With Maryse Meijer

Two years ago, the Midwestern book tour I was on with duncan b. barlow concluded on a rainy Chicago night with a reading at Volumes Bookcafe headlined by Maryse Meijer. Hearing Meijer read from her debut collection, Heartbreaker, left me floored; since then, I’ve eagerly read her subsequent books, the novella Northwood and the new collection Rag. Meijer’s fiction is haunting in a host of ways, some of them literal: she brings the reader to the border of the uncanny and primal, while also tapping into something deeply modern and urgent. I spoke with her following the release of her latest book about her short fiction, the role of horror in her work, and titles, among other topics.

Continue Reading

Afternoon Bites: Superhero Psychology, Chicago House, “Twin Peaks” As Muse, And More

Christopher R. Weingarten talks about the aesthetic influence of Twin Peaks on contemporary music. Spencer Ackerman on the psychoanalysis of superheroes. Kathe Koja has written a number of terrific and weird novels over the years; here’s an interview in which she talks about the strange and uncanny in fiction. Neil Gaiman shares his reading list with the Times. Michaelangelo Matos talks about Chicago house. Follow Vol. 1 Brooklyn on Twitter, Facebook, Google + and our Tumblr.

Continue Reading