“Well I’m asking you questions, or you’re asking me questions—but we both know the answers because putatively we’re the same person. But maybe we’re not. I mean, we’re supposed to be the same person. It was a bit confusing honestly, what Ross asked me to do.”
This is an interview with myself I was asked to conduct by Ross Simonini for The Believer Magazine.
I was asked to do this either in late December 2018, or early 2019.
I may or may not have done this chronologically over the course of the last year.
I may or may not have not done this all at once: for example, I may be writing this in its entirety on a depressing December afternoon, the sun having gone down before five, while my wife Cristine (in organic pajamas) is on the floor, wrestling a foam roller in an attempt to minimize pain caused by a herniated disc.
—Brad Phillips
January
BRAD PHILLIPS: Brad, what has been going on with you lately?
BRAD PHILLIPS: Honestly, I have mostly been dealing with rattled nerves. My first book of short stories, Essays & Fictions (Tyrant Books, New York & Rome, available through their site or on Amazon) is coming out at the end of the month, and I have been feeling pretty nervous about it.
BP: What are you nervous about?
BP: I am nervous people will think it sucks. Or, I am nervous I will think it sucks, since many of the stories are now quite old. I do not want this to cause me further anxiety and depression, which is mostly what the book deals with.
BP: I am sorry to hear that.
BP: You should buy it, but through Tyrant. Amazon takes such a huge cut, but you know, you sort of have to deal with Amazon, they’re inescapable.
February
BP: So what happened with the book?
BP: I want to avoid discussing the book. I realized that in my last answer I looked totally shameless, naming the publisher, telling people to buy it. I even included links and I think this is for print. I feel ashamed.
BP: Do you often feel ashamed?
BP: Come on. You know I do. But, I am surprised that on reading it again, I think the book is pretty great. Maybe even brilliant.
BP: Jesus, Brad.
March
BP: How is the end of winter treating you?
BP: I have never liked that expression: “How’s ____ treating you.” Like, I do not have a personal relationship with the...
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