Aaron Tucker
These are my grandfather’s spurs and one of my great grandfather’s horse figurines. My niece calls the horse “Freckle Butt”
What music have you been listening to lately?
I grew up with a lot of 80s and 90s country, not so much of the objectively cooler Outlaw country from the 60s and 70s, but more of the kind-of-dorky pop-infused tunes of Garth and Reba that would be played in my parents’ tape decks and on the radio. With this in mind, I’ve found myself going back to two Patty Loveless songs, for whatever reason, at the start of nearly every work day for the past two weeks: “You Don’t Even Know Who I Am” and her version of “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive.” I’ve taken to mostly writing and working while listening to Youtube, and so the versions of the songs I’ve been most drawn to are contemporary recordings and both involve Chris Stapleton - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZ2ZgQ1AP2c&list=RDpZ2ZgQ1AP2c&start_radio=1 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmjsUPRXQu4 . Loveless is the sort of figure I would hear all the time and I have pretty vivid memories of bouncing around to the video to “Blame It on Your Heart”. But what I like about the two songs above is that she’s been pulled out of semi-retirement, and her voice sounds terrific, especially in counter point to Stapleton, and the comments underneath are so positive about her return.
Have you ever failed at something you care about?
I suppose the most straightforward answer is my first marriage. I look back on it now, a decade later and about to be remarried this summer, am as happy as I have ever been, but I know that past was a necessary stage of living, despite how painful.
Best season/Best outfit?
I decided to combine these two questions because they’re intricately linked in my mind, as someone who checks the weather every day in order to plan what I might wear, from hat to boots. I like to wear what has been affectionately referred to as “my cowboy shit” meaning belts and buckles, one of my nice pair of cowboy boots, denim, leather, and a wide-brimmed hat (see photo). Knowing this, I love early Spring and late Fall because I can wear so many more different combinations of clothes, often double shirting with a chore coat in the cooler weather, my turquoise ring. Dressing how I feel most comfortable is something new to me: I’ve always been self-conscious wearing my western wear. But I’ve tried to find small things as I’ve been lucky enough to travel different places - neckerchiefs, bracelets, a hat - that I can wear and carry some of that place with me, to remind me of those memories and move through the world with that positivity around me.
Where is the best place?
Riverdale Farm in Toronto. I try to walk there from our apartment every day, but probably only get their 4 mornings a week. I love the walk over, passing by three different free little libraries to snoop in, the different folks walking their dogs, and then all these great animals are there! Just today, I was able to pet the new kids, tiny goats who bound off every surface, as well as a sheep named Jeff, a wether, who knows my voice and hops up on the fence to be scratched. There is also a black cat named Mimi, who I also learned today is over 20 years old, who is a delightful crank that will occasionally allow herself to be pet. There’s horses, Ringo and Daphne! And jerk geese, and cute pigs. It’s a wonder!
Latest book you’ve read?
I am just finishing Spacesuit: Fashioning Apollo by Nicholas de Monchaux, a super interesting, multi-pronged historical tracing of all the different components that went into the iconic suits that Aldrin and Armstrong wore on the moon. I’m learning so much! The book weaves together the histories of Playtex with computer simulations with fighter pilots with haute couture, augmenting the writing with terrific photos. It is the sort of work I aspire to in my own academically-oriented writing, a work that is atheistic and adventurous, while still being really fascinatingly readable.
And, as luck would have it, this morning I was notified that my copy of Your Driver is Waiting by Priya Guns is ready to be picked up at the Toronto Public Library, a book I am really excited about!
Anything you’d like to promote?
My second novel, Soldiers, Hunters, Not Cowboys is coming out with Coach House Books in June of this summer: https://chbooks.com/Books/S/Soldiers-Hunters-Not-Cowboys . I am really looking forward to being able to tour this book, read in some places outside Toronto, and meet new people!
Aaron Tucker is the author of the forthcoming novel Soldiers, Hunters, Not Cowboys with Coach House Books on June 6th, 2023. His essay “A Cowboy’s Work” was longlisted for the 2022 CBC Non-Fiction Prize and is part of a work-in-progress collection of essays. Tucker’s latest poetry collection is Catalogue d’oiseaux (Book*hug Press, Spring 2021). His novel Y: Oppenheimer, Horseman of Los Alamos (Coach House Books) was translated by Rachel Martinez into French as Oppenheimer (La Peuplade) in the summer of 2020. In addition, he is the author of two books of poetry, Irresponsible Mediums: The Chess Games of Marcel Duchamp (Bookthug Press) and punchlines (Mansfield Press).
