Big thanks to Rich Smith for his wide-ranging Stranger feature on Rebecca Brown and her forthcoming (Oct 2018) title with Tarpaulin Sky Press: Not Heaven, Somewhere Else.
Included at the The Stranger are photos of Rebecca and her writing studio and her puppets, and there’s all kinds of great stuff in the article, you know, about “Literature” and whatnot. But this is our favorite bit:
If you need any more convincing of the special power emanating from all the stuff in the studio, during our conversation, Brown’s “pet” squirrel runs into the room from her backyard, seemingly in a panic. Without hesitation, Brown pulls a couple of peanuts from her pocket to feed the animal, who gladly accepts the gift and runs off again.
In that moment, Brown’s refurbished cottage feels less like a writing studio and more like an active portal to the fictive (and not-so-fictive) worlds she’s created over the course of a steady and remarkable literary career.