A Talk with Isabel Allende: “Saying Yes to Life”
“I have had no control over the most important losses that I’ve experienced,” Isabel Allende says. “The only thing I can control is how I react, so I just plunge into whatever comes and say yes to life.” I talked with Allende about displacement and exile for the latest in my Tricycle interview series about Tibetan bardo and the art of living, Between-States: Conversations About Bardo and Life. The conversations look at acceptance, interconnectedness, and impermanence in relation to children and parents, marriage and friendship, and work and creativity. Other guests include Dani Shapiro, Edwidge Danticat, Melissa Febos, Gish Jen, David Sedaris, John McPhee, and Mohsin Hamid.
A Talk with Edwidge Danticat: “Storytelling, Death, and Putting Flesh Back on Bones”
The latest in my Tricycle interview series about Tibetan bardo and the art of living. The conversations look at acceptance, interconnectedness, and impermanence in relation to children and parents, marriage and friendship, and work and creativity. I spoke with author Edwidge Danticat about storytelling and how she finds meaning in the face of impermanence.
A Talk with Melissa Febos: “Turning Toward a More Authentic Life”
For my Tricycle interview series exploring Tibetan bardo and the art of living, I spoke with author Melissa Febos about her search for authenticity.
Gish Jen: “Finding Your Own Narrative”
The latest in an interview series I’ve launched with Tricycle about Tibetan bardo “between-states” in everyday life. The conversations explore acceptance, interconnectedness, and impermanence in relation to children and parents, marriage and friendship, and work and creativity. I spoke with author Gish Jen about what it means to be the author of your own life.
Leaving the Palace (WANTING, Catapult)
“What is desire? And what are its rules? In this daring collection, award-winning and emerging female writers share their innermost longings...” In my essay, I look at Buddhism and desire through the lens of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and my own search for self. “Slater’s essay underscores what’s at stake when women write about desire: self-determination and the realization of their full humanity.” (Ploughshares)