Alissa Hattman talks to Siloh about her post-apocalyptic novel Sift, writing during crises and into blockages, fragmented literary form, and creative community. 

On the process of writing Sift during peak pandemic, Alissa says, “I had felt that whatever I could create in this time had to just be made out of the soil that we were in, in that moment.” And while it’s never not a good time to talk about making art during a catastrophe, this conversation (which was recorded at the end of September 2023) feels especially well-timed. 

Alissa Hattman is author of the novel Sift and the zine POST. Her writing has appeared in Carve, The Rumpus, The Gravity of the Thing, Propeller, Big Other, Surely Magazine, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA in Fiction from Pacific University and an MA in English Literature from Portland State University. Alissa has worked as a fiction editor, book reviewer, zine librarian, writing group facilitator, and teacher. She writes short essays for her monthly newsletter, MURMUR, which also features a small press spotlight with a book give-away and other literary updates. Originally from North Dakota, she now lives and teaches in the Pacific Northwest. More at www.alissahattman.com.

Show notes and transcript available here. If you liked this episode, check out Siloh’s Substack for more reflections on the creative process (and podcast updates!). You can find Siloh on Instagram @silohrad. 

Outro music by Siloh. Audio mastered by Ethan Camp.

Mentioned in this episode

Sift by Alissa Hattman

The 3rd Thing Press

Riot grrrl

The Evergreen State College

Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Anne Carson's lecture on corners

“No Place for Self Pity, No Room For Fear in the Nation” by Toni Morrison (essay)

Milan Kundera 

Alison Bailey

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

Renunciations by Donika Kelly

Defacing the Monument by Susan Briante

Fred Moten

Anne de Marcken

Browsers Books in Olympia