Episode Eleven: We get EDUCATED by Carrie Byrd
We are freaking out y’all! We aren't even trying to stop it. The brilliant and wonderful and deeply kind Carrie Byrd is with us in the Podfort today and wow do we have a big ole lesbian crush on her. This is an exceptionally special conversation that you’ll want to revisit over and over again. Centering on Loser of the Year, Carrie’s debut novel, which drops in the Summer 2024, Carrie talks to us all about writing fire queens, having a goal of liberation rather than merely representation in her writing, and how her ethnoreligious identity influences her and her writing. We then get into writing good sex well, the importance of writing consent and communication, and the positive role sapphic romance can play in teaching people about having healthy sex. Carrie then teaches us about developmental temporality, and then we talk about what it means to write a realistic and worthy happily ever after that understands pain and joy live together. We then dig deep into how shame and repression are the cultural touchstones of queerness in American culture, the role of art in freeing ourselves from that shame and repression, and how the job of the artist is to write into the shame and repression in order to free themselves. Finally, Carrie talks about what it is like to be married to another writer and the joys of creating together. Then we get into her big threes and play a rousing game of wife-girlfriend-bang buddy. This episode is so special. It made me (Macon) a better writer and thinker and person. It also made me want to sit at Carrie’s feet and let her be my great mentor. Do yourself a favor and GET INTO IT!!
Reminder, we will be at ReadOUT Literary Festival in Gulfport, FL from February 16-18, 2024. You can get tickets to attend both in person and online here. It’s going to be such an awesome time and we really hope to see you there!
Carrie’s Big Three Books:
Emily of New Moon by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Coffee Will Make You Black by April Sinclair
The Promise of Happiness by Sara Ahmed
Carrie’s Big Three Albums:
Fetch the Bolt Cutters by Fiona Apple
The Loneliest Time by Carly Rae Jepsen
Carrie’s Big Three Poems:
Since You Asked by Carl Phillips
People, Books, and Articles Mentioned:
