Liz Harmer

This is my very messy workspace, complete with stacks of books, reminders from Zadie Smith (“Is it worthy of a human?”) and Alanis Morrissette (thank u, disillusionment!), notes on my novels-in-progress, a story my Oma wrote, an image of Mary Magdalen, an image of Joni Mitchell, piles of teaching work, my sweetgum wreath, a paperweight from a child…etc etc etc. 

What do you feel is your best piece of work? 

There are some nonfiction pieces I’m especially proud of, and my novel, Strange Loops, which is coming out fairly soon, is (I’ve been saying to everyone) the best thing I’ve written. I think it’s more coherent and darker (maybe more mysterious, too) than anything else I’ve done. 

What music have you been listening to lately?

Some of my current songs on repeat: “Landslide” & “Silver Springs” by Fleetwood Mac; some Doja Cat, King Princess & Frank Ocean, and a few songs that were in the films Things to Come and Goodbye First Love by Mia Hansen-Løve, especially “Unchained Melody” by the Fleetwoods and “The Water” by Johnny Flynn and Laura Marling. 

What’s in your fridge right now?

An aspirational amount of veggies. Virtuous yogurt. A lot of milk (I have children). 

Who is the last character you related to and why? 

I feel a bit weird about this one, but I was shocked by the similarities between myself and Perry, one of the characters in Franzen’s Crossroads. In high school, I, too, was a hyperintelligent, hypersensitive pain in the ass desperate to be good, unable to be good, enamored of a youth group, and on the verge of madness. I felt nearly agape about the resemblance when I read this novel. Like looking into a murky mirror, or reading a prophecy. It was quite unsettling. 

I wish this was a more flattering answer, but a propensity to self-flagellation is at least in keeping. 

Last gift you received?

Someone made me a wreath out of sweetgum pods. 

Which season is the best? 

Winter. It’s been a bit sad for me to live, then, in Southern California. 

Best outfit?

When I was a teenager, I had these blue pin-stripe men’s pants I got at a thrift store that fit me perfectly and (I thought then) pooled quite nicely, a little starchily, around my ankles. I wore them everywhere the year I was seventeen with a thin brown blouse and a thrifted leather coat. I miss them. 

Do you like to write in the morning or at night? 

I am definitely a morning writer. I get up before 6 most days and start to get sleepy and totally unproductive at around 1 pm.

When did you first receive praise for your writing?

I was the little writer in my school, and my third-grade teacher let me read the entirety of my first “novel” to the whole class. I was sure they were riveted. By fifth grade, when I started a new, ambitious project, I discovered that both my mother and my teacher thought I could do better. It was devastating. It was the end of the easy-praise years. 

What do you consider to be your first rejection? 

I was sending stuff out to journals and getting rejected already in high school, but I don’t remember any of these, except one handwritten note that said “Sorry. The competition’s fierce.” 

Latest book you’ve read or favourite book ever?

I’m going to go ahead and say a recent favourite instead, which is Susan Choi’s My Education (as well as her Trust Exercise). Since I’ve been trying to write about sexual obsession, I’ve sought out novels on the subject, and both of these have elements that linger over the question of desire. I could not put either book down. The other thing I appreciate in these books is Choi’s capacity to write interior lives in both first- and third-person and to switch between a free-indirect style, a first-person confessional style, and a more objective third. 

Anything you’d like to promote?

My forthcoming novel, Strange Loops, can be pre-ordered in Canada and the US. If people want to find me, I’m on Instagram at @harmerliz and Twitter at @lizharmer.

Liz Harmer’s first novel, The Amateurs, was shortlisted for the Amazon First Novel Award. Her second, Strange Loops, is forthcoming with Knopf/Vintage Canada. She is at work on a memoir.