Victoria Chang on Grief, Craft, and the Joys of Obsession
In Conversation with Paul Holdengräber The Quarantine Tapes
Hosted by Paul Holdengräber, The Quarantine Tapes chronicles shifting paradigms in the age of social distancing. Each day, Paul calls a guest for a brief discussion about how they are experiencing the global pandemic.
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Paul Holdengräber is joined by Victoria Chang on episode 201 of The Quarantine Tapes. Starting with Victoria’s book of poems Obit, Paul and Victoria have a fascinating and deeply considered conversation about grief, craft, and the joys of obsessions.
Victoria talks about the experience of writing about her grief in Obit and how the obituary form helped to guide her process. They discuss how Obit felt suited to the grief of the past year before Victoria shares her own poems and unpacks her latest obsessions, including her upcoming books and her fascination with tiny poems.
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Victoria Chang’s latest poetry book is OBIT, which was named a New York Times Notable Book and received the LA Times Book Prize, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, and the PEN Voelcker Award. It was also longlisted for a National Book Award and a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Griffin International Poetry Prize. Her forthcoming hybrid nonfiction book is Dear Memory. She has received a Guggenheim Fellowship and lives in Los Angeles.
