With Erica Wiggins
Photo by Caio Sanfelice
To begin our questions, I think it’s best to begin with the overall concept. I’ve heard of this concept before – people who have sensitivity to sounds and live in “quiet” towns. What inspired you to write about this topic?
When I first stumbled upon an article about The Hum seven or eight years ago, I was intrigued by how only a select few people could hear it, sometimes only a single person in a family, but how for those who did, it could be debilitating. It made me think about truth, illness, and mania. The fact that there is still so much debate about what The Hum is, or if it's even a real phenomenon, also compels me, and speaks to questions of faith, and how we reckon with that which defies certain explanation.
I found myself questioning whether I was getting a truthful story from Claire as she seems unreliable at times. Did you start out with the intent to write her this way or did she develop into an unreliable character along the way? Why did you decide to write The Listeners from Claire’s perspective?
Yes, I set out with the intent to write Claire as someone whose sense of truth is called into question. Since the idea for the story first presented itself, Claire and her journey have always been at its center. Initially, I thought I would write The Listeners as a play. But this didn't afford me the kind of immersion in Claire's psychology that the story required, which is why I ultimately wrote it as a novel from her first person perspective.
I felt a kinship with Claire who was seeking to find someone who understood what she was going through. Why did you make her first connection with a student?
It is just how the story presented itself. From the start, I knew Claire was a teacher, and that the first person who would, in a sense, listen to her, was one of her students. I knew they would develop a powerful bond, and that this bond would ultimately destabilize her marriage, and cost her her job. It was this relationship that first hooked me into telling the rest of the story.
The group developed a cult-like feeling; what was your objective in creating this group of people?
I wanted to write about a group of people seeking a sense of community and mutual support. A group which begins as something innocuous like a self-help group, but through their ever-increasing reliance on one another and gradual alienation from the rest of the world, transform into something far more intense. This tends to be a trajectory shared by groups formed around faith and conspiracy -- two forces which are exacting major political and social influence in America at the moment, and which I seek to examine in this book.
Can you tell me more about the process of translating this story into an opera? I’m curious if you had always intended to turn The Listeners into an opera and if so, how did that affect your writing of it.
I actually haven't been involved in the opera in any capacity. I am a great fan of Missy Mazzoli's music, but she and Royce Vavrek, the librettist, have worked entirely independently on adapting the story.
What does your writing process look like? Are you systematic with a strong routine – if so, what does it look like? Or would you describe it as less “routine” and more of a an ebb and flow?
I don't really have a process or routine. I just try to write whenever I can, around meetings, errands, and travel commitments, which sometimes means having an afternoon to write at home, or sometimes means writing for a couple of hours on a train somewhere.
You have achieved great success in your work. Can you tell me what your favourite project was/is to date?
I suspect like most artists my answer is: the thing that I have just finished. I am proud of The Listeners, and it is probably my favourite piece of my own writing.
The Listeners is such an interesting and unique story. Are you planning another book? Will it be similar to The Listeners or do you have a different idea in mind?
I certainly plan to write more books, but I haven't settled on a new idea yet.
What advice would you give to young aspiring authors who are trying to navigate the publishing world?
Write your big book now.
What is your “must-read” book recommendation and what book has had the most impact and influence on your writing?
My must-read book recommendation at the moment is Lote by Shola von Reinhold, and the book that has had the most impact on my writing is Maggie Nelson's The Argonauts.