I Gotta Make Art with Carmen Maria Machado

#### It’s not every day we chat with someone the _New York Times_ has listed as part of “[the new vanguard](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/05/books/vanguard-books-by-women-in-21st-century.html)” in fiction. But today’s our day: Carmen Maria Machado is live on NYG!

We sit down with the badass author, National Book Award finalist, and fellow Philly resident for a conversation about writing, working retail, believing in your own work, craving the company of other women, and so much more.

> The art of non-dominant groups can be _trendy_, but we think of men and whiteness and straightness as, like, eternal… And of course that’s fake, right? Like, that’s not real: men, and white, and straight, and cis, and all those things… are not neutral, but we think of them as neutral.

> —[Carmen Maria Machado](http://www.carmenmariamachado.com), author, [_Her Body and Other Parties_](https://carmenmariamachado.com/her-body-and-other-parties/)

Here’s what we cover:

- The “fat women with fat minds” of Carmen’s “[The Trash Heap Has Spoken](https://www.guernicamag.com/the-trash-heap-has-spoken/)” essay in _Guernica_

- How a retreat at the [Millay Colony for the Arts](https://www.millaycolony.org/) kickstarted her writing career

- The wild popularity of “[The Husband Stitch](https://granta.com/the-husband-stitch/),” Carmen’s story in _Granta_ (which, like, just read it already)

- What it’s like to go from working at the mall to full-fledged famous author in a few short years

- The exploitative mess of the [adjunct teaching market](https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/o-adjunct-my-adjunct)

- Carmen’s review of Danielle Lazarin’s new book, _[Backtalk](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/20/books/review/back-talk-danielle-lazarin.html)_, and how women internalize the “slow, invisible grind” of misogyny

- Why Claire Vaye Watkins’ essay “[On Pandering](http://tinhouse.com/on-pandering/)” and Kristen Roupenian’s short story “[Cat Person](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/12/11/cat-person)” struck such a nerve

- Craving the company of women in a culture full of far too much bullshit

- Finding the confidence to divest from sexist culture, take up space, and acknowledge your talents out loud

Plus: why city snobbery is bullshit, the incredible joys and [health benefits](https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-perfect-nap-sleeping-is-a-mix-of-art-and-science-1378155665) of naps (seriously, just thinking about a nap can even [lower your blood pressure](https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/important-reasons-to-nap_us_5aa6805be4b086698a9fb30c))—and why y’all should just [visit Philly](https://www.visitphilly.com/) already.

## Sponsors

This episode of NYG is brought to you by:


_[Shopify](https://www.shopify.com/careers), a leading global commerce platform that’s building a world-class team to define the future of entrepreneurship. Visit [shopify.com/careers](https://www.shopify.com/careers) to see what they’re talking about._