“To engage in a sort of self-introduction is bizarrely self-regarding — it’s admitting in some way that you are worthy of being regarded. Of being listened to.” — Leia Menlove
Mastering — and Failing — the Art of Introduction:
At the start of this episode, we introduce themselves as well as Subway Reads! Now, you may not expect to hear about squirrels in a bookish podcast, but — as Rachel tells it — that can be the perfect ice-breaker. After sharing our personal, as well as professional biographies, we explain what you’ll hear in each episode.
Every week, we check in with each other on our writing lives and otherwise. Then we feature an in-depth interview with someone in the literary community. Afterwards, we discuss the interview and invite you to do the same in the comments! At the end of the podcast (along with the post here!) we will share our Subway Reads.
Today’s Special Guest Embraces Rejection When Others Chase Success:
Meet our divine friend of the show, Grey Traynor! Grey is a trans-femme short story writer, podcaster, and novelist who specializes in the kind of delightful misery you can only find in a John Waters fever dream.
“Looking at me, you’re (as many people have said in a grocery store) what the hell is that? There is no gender in a grocery store.”
— Grey
In their one-on-one interview, Rachel and Grey peep under the swishy skirt of writerly rejection, the power of isolation in creation, and lots of other stuff like…
The high-stakes art of identity-label-wearing and what being trans femme actually entails.
Grey’s literary obsession with the terminally lonely, the blissfully unaware, and characters so alienated they make us (even Rachel and Leia) look stable.
Their podcast Baby, Don’t Shoot, a Luigi Mangione-inspired romance because nothing says “connection” like a headlines-driven thriller.
The radical (and messy) act of airing failures on social media to keep the writing dream on life support.
Why you should join a writing group instead of talking to the pigeons in your Portland apartment.
Where you can find Grey beyond this episode:
Follow them on instagram (clearly, we’re fans!) and check out their website.
Just some of our favorite things that Grey had to say:
On the realities of rejection:
“No is never going away. Everyone at every level — no matter what their career is — no never goes away. And it kind of shouldn’t, because then you’re just being surrounded by yes people and you’re probably not putting out your best work.”
— Grey Traynor“We are failing, getting rejected, getting dismissed. Every single person who’s ever done what you wanna do is constantly falling on their face.”
— Grey Traynor
How their childhood and adolescence impacted their life and writing:
“Growing up queer, introspective, and odd, I learned to navigate alienation with curiosity instead of bitterness.”
— Grey Traynor
Stick around for the post-interview-cooldown!
We psychoanalyze American culture’s allergic reaction to failure and the gritty reality of rejection. We also gush over how much we love Grey.
Then, as this IS a book podcast, we present you with…
Grey’s Subway Reads:
Tangled Up in Blue by Larry Duplechan — A couple deals with HIV. Funny and sweet, but inevitably sad.
Blackbird by Larry Duplechan — A young adult novel that is a favorite of Grey’s and they wish more people would read it as it’s foundational to the genre.
Tapping the Source by Kem Nunn — “The most dad book in the world,” according to Grey, and is said to have inspired the film Point Break.
Our Subway Reads:
Rachel’s Pick: Sky Daddy by Kate Folk — A voice-driven and brilliantly written novel about a woman who believes she’s destined to marry an airplane. By the end you want her to get her wish, but really hope she doesn’t.
Leia’s Pick: The Liars’ Club by Mary Karr — A celebrated memoir about an apocalyptic childhood, phenomenally written.
Other Books Mentioned in this FABULOUS Episode:
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides — A drop-dead jaw-breaking colossus of a literary work Leia stupidly resisted for 20 years, the fell in love with.
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace — Another great work of literature Leia still hasn’t read but is sure to love in twenty more years.
Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell — A Leia-favorite and one she wishes her life could emulate (at least for a season or two).
Thanks for joining us for our first episode! And tell us, really, what do you think of squirrels?
