The multifaceted artist Tanaïs joins Catherine LaSota for a conversation about their winding journey through writing, perfume making, and running a company for more than a decade and counting. They discuss the depth of their practice and the importance of connecting to one's body, the role of cycles and rituals in their work, and their belief in collective knowledge and honoring one's predecessors. Tune in for a nourishing conversation with a wonderful writer who makes the only perfumes and lipsticks that Catherine wears!

About our guest:
TANAÏS is a New York City based author and perfumer. Their book IN SENSORIUM: NOTES FOR MY PEOPLE, won the 2022 Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction. This genre-defying book offers a necessary, alternative feminist perspective of South Asian history, colonization, caste, and nation-state formation, through the fascinating lens of scent history and sensuality.

They are the author of the critically-acclaimed novel BRIGHT LINES, finalist for The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, The Edmund White Debut Fiction Award, and The Brooklyn Public Library Prize.

Their forthcoming feminist futurist novel, STELLAR SMOKE, will be published by Dutton Books in 2026.

Their latest perfume is called I WANT YOU, a Bengali oud, now available at studiotanais.com.

PHOTO CREDIT: HASSAN SAYED

More about Tanaïs:
website: studiotanais.com
newsletter: tanais.substack.com
Instagram: @studiotanais

Thanks for listening to Feed the Art!
Learn more about Catherine LaSota's offerings as a creativity coach and workshop facilitator at catherinelasota.com.
Looking for more ways to feed your art? Join Catherine's occasional newsletter, full of stories, prompts, inspirations, and resources, here.

Thank you to our podcast editor Jade Iseri-Ramos, and thank you to Pat Irwin for our theme music.