A slice of lemon cake with Aimee Bender

I have an interview up at Guernica with writer Aimee Bender, whose recent book, The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, was, as the critics say, un-put-downable.

I'm glad she and I completed this prior to October, when my bouncing baby boy was born. He is also, as the parents say, un-put-downable. Because he likes to be held. And he cries when he is not. Which makes interviewing people somewhat more challenging, to say nothing of toasting a bagel or checking e-mail. Remember all the bagels I used to toast, and all the e-mails I would check? Those were different times. Buttery, sticky-keyboarded times.

But we're learning. Becoming more dexterous with one-handed maneuvers. (As well as getting sucked into brainless cable television, an addictive, sugary phase I hope is temporary, but also kind of love, shamefully. More on that soon.)

So please go read about Aimee, who has this to say on dreams and art: "One thing that’s so key about dreams is they are reality and not-reality at the same time, and I think art is too."

Dreams! I remember having those, back when I used to sleep.

Here is the lovely Aimee Bender:


Author photo by Max S. Gerber