I’m also drawn to the voiceless and the displaced. Laura: I write about what obsesses me, the things I can’t stop thinking about. What draws you to the subjects you explore in your drama and prose? I found I had to make my life very, very quiet in order to create the mental space for a book.ĪrtSake: You’ve written about the exile of Napoleon Bonaparte, about a young couple in the aftermath of 9-11, and about events surrounding the Civil War, WWI, Vietnam, and the Iraq War. You have to show up and give yourself to it. Laura: The actual writing process, the day-to-day activity of writing is the same no matter what the form. The following is an excerpt from that 2011 interview ( read it in full).ĪrtSake: Do you find the writing process to be basically the same, whether for the stage or the page? In 2011, we talked to Laura about her first novel, Alice Bliss, and the way her creative process has continued to expand. She’s just published her second novel, A Catalog of Birds, and has upcoming readings in Beverly, Belmont, and Rockport. Interview: Robin Bridges (The Unfailing Light Blog.Laura Harrington is a novelist, playwright, and librettist who has received two Mass Cultural Council Artist Fellowships and numerous other awards and honors.Review: The Girl Who Owned a City by O.T.Guest Post: Laura Harrington (Alice Bliss Blog Tour).Review: Lunch Lady and the Picture Day Peril by Ja.Yet.)ħ) Be able to keep a secret if someone asks you to.ġ0) Make friends with your dictionary.

(I hope my mom reads this because we don’t have a dog. Sign them: “Someone who thinks you’re terrific.”Ħ) Have a dog. I didn’t want to wear out my welcome.Ĥ) Buy whatever kids are selling on card tables in their front yards.ĥ) Send lots of Valentine cards. Please note: I limited myself to ten items.

She doesn’t even need a list at the grocery store. Have you noticed that everybody in the Bliss family loves lists? Except for my mom, but she is her own very special category. I’m very observant and pretty precocious which drives my sister Alice crazy, but might help me make a good list. Don’t you think I’ve learned a few things in my eight years on this earth? Wouldn’t it be hard not to? I’ve got my eyes open, I read. Okay, so I know you’re thinking, she’s only eight what does she know about life? But maybe that’s a kind of preconception you have about little kids, not that I’m that little.

Alice Bliss by Laura Harrington