Aimee Bender

Hugo House: In a couple of months you will debut a brand-new piece at Hugo House; have you started working on it yet?

Aimee Bender: Yes, a few weeks ago I started jotting down ideas.

HH: What were your first thoughts on receiving an invitation to write on an assigned theme? Any regrets on having said yes?

AB: Sometimes a theme is helpful for me—focuses the distractedness. This particular theme felt challenging, because it's so very real, and ultra-American, which I find somewhat intimidating. But I think I may've found a way in.

HH: Could you tell us a little bit about your process—how you approach writing something new?

AB: I write several beginnings, just impulsive ideas that occur to me on the theme.  I'll do that for a few days in a row, until something seems worth following.

HH: What road trip would you most like to take?

AB: All around the deep South appeals to me.

HH: Jack Kerouac spent nearly a decade on the road with not much more than a notebook. If you were on the road for that long, what three things would you be sure to pack?

AB: It would be so hard for me to be on the road for 10 years!  I was highly ambivalent about four-hour road trips, as a kid. I might pack something that would slash the tires so I could stay in one place for awhile.