Reckon True Stories

Alexander Chee on Storytelling, Motivation, and Money

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Deesha Philyaw and Kiese Laymon chat with writer Alexander Chee, author of Edinburgh, The Queen of the Night, and How to Write an Autobiographical Novel. The three writers talk about their journeys in the publishing industry, and what success has meant to each of them, specifically in regards to money. They discuss Chee’s essay, “My Inheritance Was My Father’s Last Lesson To Me,” where he writes about his relationship to money, how it changes over time, and what the relationship between anxiety, money, and body looks like. 

Reading List: Authors, Stories, and Books Mentioned

  • How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays (Alexander Chee)
  • “How to Unlearn Everything” (Alexander Chee, Vulture 2019)
  • Edinburgh (Alexander Chee)
  • The Queen of the Night (Alexander Chee)
  • Other Peoples’ Husbands (forthcoming by Alexander Chee)
  • “When Horror is the Truth-Teller” (Alexander Chee, Guernica 2023)
  • “My Inheritance Was My Father’s Last Lesson To Me, And I Am Still Learning It” (Alexander Chee, Buzzfeed 2018)
  • Damon Young
  • “Storycraft: Point of Telling” (Junot Diaz, StoryWorlds 2023)
  • Jesus’ Son (Denis Johnson)
  • The Children's Hospital (Chris Adrian)
  • The War: A Memoir (Marguerite Duras)
  • Sarah Schulman
  • The Book of Love (Kelly Link)
  • Enter Ghost (Isabella Hammad)
  • Notes from an Island (Tove Jansson)
  • The Moomins and the Great Flood (Tove Jansson)
  • Same Bed Different Dreams (Ed Park)


    Listening List:

    • Luther Vandross
    • Favorite Albums of Each Year (Hanif Abdurraqib, Medium, 2016 - 2023)
    • CCFX
    • Lil Nas X
    • Yeah Yeah Yeahs
    • Omar Apollo
    • Billie Eilish
    • Nicki Minaj
    • Japanese Breakfast
    • Angel Olsen
    • U.S. Girls
    • Wet Leg


      • More from Deesha Philyaw and Kiese Laymon: 

      • The Secret Lives of Church Ladies (Deesha Philyaw)
      • Heavy (Kiese Laymon)
      • Long Division (Kiese Laymon)
      • How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America: Essays (Kiese Laymon)
      • Ursa Short Fiction podcast (Deesha Philyaw & Dawnie Walton)


        Produced by Ursa Story Company in partnership with Reckon. 

        Hosted by Deesha Philyaw & Kiese Laymon

        Show Producers: Dawnie Walton & Mark Armstrong

        Associate Producer: Marina Leigh

        Episode Editor: Kelly Araja


        Reckon Editor In Chief: R.L. Nave

        Reckon Deputy Editor: Michelle Zenarosa

        Audience Director: Katie Johnston

        Creative Strategist: Abbey Crain

        Sr. Social Producer: Sid Espinosa

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