bio: Scott McClanahan is the author of The Incantations of Daniel Johnston, Hill William, Crapalachia, and The Collected Stories of Scott McClanahan. He lives in Beckley, West Virgina with his wife, the author Juliet Escoria. He runs the media production group Holler Presents with Chris Oxley. Under the name Holler Boys, they released a self-titled album in 2015 on Fat Possum Records.
1. What are you working on currently? What ever happened to The Sarah Book?
I’m working on this weird book called Fights! It’s a book about all the fights I’ve ever been in–but mostly about the fights I’ve been in with Julia.
She’s like Napoleon on the battlefield. She’s at her strongest in retreat. If she’s losing on a macro level–she shrinks the battlefield to a micro level. Fighting with her is like watching a great artist.
I think I’m going to write Fights! and then just disappear for a long while.
The Sarah Book is coming out in April 2017 from Tyrant Books. Gian and I have worked really hard on it. Actually that’s probably the book to publish and then disappear. I’m still trying to maintain my amateur status.
2. Your previous work includes a ton of short stories and two novels, all of which are semi-autobiographical. This new book, The Incantations of Daniel Johnston, still has a level of close, deep introspection on an individual, although this time the focus is pointed outward, although it feels very inward, still. What makes your new work, which you described above, different stylistically or thematically from what you’ve written previously?
Yeah I’ve always done a ton of different stuff than just the writing stuff. So I guess it fits in with the weirdo stuff I’ve done. Holler Boys put out an album with Fat Possum. We’ve done movies. I did three video monologues back in the summer of 2012. I think those video monologues are still some of the best things I’ve done. I’m still confused why MOMA hasn’t called about those vids.
The graphic novel is more like that.
Ben Lerner can write a book about poetry and being a putz, I should be able to do a graphic novel.
3. When and where do you do writing most often? Who do you usually have read your writing?
Whenever I can find the time. I’m sort of confused about writers who maintain a schedule. I go hard at it, but I don’t think I have to do it everyday.
There’s nothing worse than a book that’s been worked on too long. You can feel them. We need to blow up those bullshit 19th century models and not just bow before them and essentially re-copy them.
I never show my work. Writers are mostly suck ups or masochists. I’m not into that game. Really the only person I show it to is Julia. Beyond that just Gian.
If you’re doing it right, only you can help you. That’s always been my approach.
4. What books have you read recently and liked a lot, and why?
I’ve been reading a ton of Javier Marias. His anti novel Dark Back of Time. He’s just effortless. You can’t see him writing which is the problem I have with most writing.
It’s like last night I was watching a bunch of clips on YouTube from the Pitchfork music fest. There wasn’t one star amongst them. No matter how much Pitchfork was trying to tell you this is cool. No mystery. They didn’t move right. Marias is just a star. His mommy probably knew it.
I read some more Colette this summer. The Claudine novels. Claudine in School blew me away. I’ll take the Claudine novels over Proust any day. How can you not love a life-force you can’t put a label on or you can’t buy? That’s Colette.
She was asked about the suffragette movement of the early 20th century and you know what she said –the suffragettes need the harem and the lash. Can you imagine how twitter would react to Colette nowadays? She’s just a human contradiction.
5. What is your day-to-day “work life” like? Do you like it?
I teach a bunch. We just started the semester so Im not really writing. Usually Julia and I will get an hour or two or three out of the day for writing. We stop at about 8 and watch something. we watched Gate of Flesh and Battle Royale this past week or two. Then its pants off dance off or reading before bed. Wouldn’t want another life. That’s for sure.
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