— Esmé Weijun Wang,

author of The Collected Schizophrenias (Graywolf Press, February)

What has changed you as a writer? Reading. When I see another writer doing something that I’d never before imagined, or am freshly lit up by an example of something that I, too, am trying to do, I’m pushed and pulled into new shapes. What does a perfect writing day feel like to you? I’m happiest in my writing life when I’m at a residency. I love how residencies pare down life so that I have to focus; I wake up, pray, have some coffee and a bite, read something that inspires me, and go to work until I can’t work anymore. Then I eat lunch and nap. If there’s any writing left in me for the day, I go ahead and work. If not, I read. Why do you write? It’s the best way I’ve found to interpret the bewildering world. Who do you turn to when you feel like you’re losing faith?

I turn to my loved ones when that happens. They’ve brought me a lot of comfort in my life—my husband, in particular, has been with me for the last seventeen years, including quite a few horrors. A dear friend of mine told me, after reading one of the final drafts of The Collected Schizophrenias, that the book is in some ways a love letter to our relationship. What do you think of when you find yourself avoiding the page? I think of how happy I am when I’m writing and the work is going well. It’s like nothing else. What would you say to the ten-year-old you? You will, despite what you promised your mother, become a “weird teenager.” It’ll be horrible, but you’ll get through it. Also, your relationship with her will improve. Keep going. You’re doing great.

“I believe in the fragility of life, which is one of the most frightening things about being human; I believe in the importance of recognizing— and living with an awareness of— that fragility too.”