Rachel Kushner
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New York was a Dream, a Memory, and a Haunting
Last weekend, I returned to New York for the first time in one year and nine months–the first time since moving back to the West Coast. I knew that because of the baggage I left behind and the loss I had experienced there that I needed a solid reason for my first return trip. That…
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Writing is Religion
Ever since this past winter when I read Camus’s The Myth of Sisyphus, I’ve been thinking a lot about absurdism. In his book, Camus argues that life is meaningless, there is no god, etc. Once a person leaves religion and is left with this hopelessness, the question Camus poses is: should a person kill herself in…
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Glossophobia
Last October, the Literary Happy Hour reading series tasked me with presenting a piece on the subject of fear. I read a short story about marriage—to be fair, that’s a real fear of mine. What I was working on was this essay about a woman’s fear of not speaking up, now up on Vol. 1…
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When Remembering is an Object
This past Saturday marked the four-year anniversary of my brother’s sudden death. I dedicated the morning to remembrance, honoring my brother the best way I knew how: reading Raymond Carver’s “Where I’m Calling From” and listening to “Idaho” by Down Like Silver. I spent the evening with my sister, and in between watching 90s feel…
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What is PNW Lit? A Redux
I traveled to Portland on Friday to host a Joyland PNW reading at the Portland Lit Crawl. This was my second Lit Crawl event this fall and second time hosting on behalf of Joyland PNW. As host, I wanted to address the question I’m asking as I read submissions to this region’s section in Joyland,…
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Upcoming Literary Happenings
I’m popping up at a few readings this fall and hope to see y’all there! October 19th: I’m reading at and hosting the Joyland PNW reading at Lit Crawl Seattle. The event will be at Pine Box at 8:00pm. As host, I hope to give some insight into the question I been wrestling with this…
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Blog on my Blog
The thoughtful and terrific Jane Hodges, founder of the Mineral School residency in Mineral, Washington, kindly asked me to be the subject of their blog interviews last month. I completely forgot to re-post until now. Better late than never! The interview goes into what I’m writing, who I’m reading, where I’m volunteering, and my hot…
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My Queer Agenda
This past Saturday, I taught my first workshop at a small writing conference outside of Seattle. I had a lot of anxiety around it because I’ve never felt comfortable with the idea of me teaching others. Give a reading, yes. Speak on a panel, sure. Host an event, absolutely. Bestow wisdom on others, not so…
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Lit Crawl 2017
This is shaping up to be a busy fall. Between teaching a workshop at the Southwest Washington Writers Conference, reading at the Literary Happy Hour at Capitol Cider, and planning the reading lineup for the Sixth Annual Seattle Crawl, I’m in the thick of it with new and fun literary events to keep me busy…
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See You in Centralia
I’m excited to announce that I’ll be leading my first workshop at an upcoming writer’s conference this September. Held at Centralia College, the 4th Annual Southwest Washington Writers Conference is a day of workshops and networking for writers of all levels. I’ll be tapping back into my publicity experience to host the workshop “How to…
Kait Gets Lit 