Notes and Links to Sarah Rose Etter’s Work
For Episode 223, Pete welcomes Sarah Rose Etter, and the two discuss, among other topics, her early relationship to the written word, formative and transformative writers and writing, her love of writing in translation, her and Pete’s shared love of Hemingway’s short stories, and seeds for and salient themes related to Ripe, including housing and economic inequalities and realities, depression and anxiety as represented by the book’s “black hole,” parental/child relationships, and grief.
Sarah Rose Etter is the author of RIPE (published by Scribner), and The Book of X, winner of the 2019 Shirley Jackson Award. Her short fiction collection, Tongue Party, was selected by Deb Olin Unferth to be published as the winner of the 2011 Caketrain Award.
Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in TIME, Guernica, BOMB, Gulf Coast, The Cut, VICE, and more.
She has been awarded residences at the Jack Kerouac House, the Disquiet International program in Portugal, and the Gullkistan Writing Residency in Iceland.
In 2017, she was the keynote speaker at the Society for the Study of American Women Writers conference in Bordeaux, France, where she presented on surrealist writing as a mode of feminism.
She earned her B.A. in English from Pennsylvania State University and her M.F.A. in Fiction from Rosemont College. She lives in Los Angeles, CA.
Buy Ripe
Sarah's Website
New York Times Review of Ripe by Alexandra Chang
NPR Interview
At about 2:00, Sarah shouts out the literary landscape and physical landscape
At about 2:45, Sarah talks about her childhood relationship with the written word
At about 4:30, Pete and Sarah exchange formative stories and writing that opened up analytical and emotional taps, including Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” and “Cat in the Rain,” as well as Plath’s “Metaphors”
At about 5:40, Sarah talks about how and why she started writing with short stories
At about 6:50, Sarah reflects on ideas of obsession with subject matter when writing
At about 7:22, Sarah shares a few examples of chill-inducing writing for her as a reader
At about 8:55, Sarah discusses contemporary writers who thrill and challenge her: Carmen Maria Machado, Hallie Butler, Kristen Arnett, Melissa Broder, and many works in translation, like Olga T
At about 15:00, Sarah discusses seeds for Ripe, including how her personal life and the world’s recent issues informed the book
At about 19:00, Pete and Sarah talk about grief and sharing
At about 22:10, Pete sets the book’s exposition, and Sarah gives background on the powerful and meaningful first line of the book
At about 25:30, Sarah and Pete compare notes on first draft and heavy editing
At about 27:15, The two discuss the black hole, a common symbol in the book
At about 29:50, Pete compliments the ways in which Sarah presents the narrator Cassie and the frenzied Silicon Valley lifestyle
At about 30:55, Sarah discusses the ways in which Cassie is the person she is due to her parents’ influences
At about 33:00, Sarah charts and breaks down a bit of her writing outlook and style and schedule
At about 34:30, Sarah references Parasite and Uncut Gems as examples of storytelling and escalating tensions as so powerful
At about 35:50, Sarah talks about her black hole research and earlier permutations of the black hole and its place in the book
At about 37:50, Sarah responds to Pete’s questions about a possible history of depression within Cassie's family and without
At about 40:10, Sarah discusses the strengths and beauty of Cassie’s relationship with her father, as well as some of his toxic qualities
At about 41:20, Sarah discusses the issues revolving around money and the high cost of living
At about 43:10, The two discuss the book’s title and the symbolism of the pomegranate and ideas of mythical connections and underworlds
At about 45:25, The two shout out Stephanie Feldman and connections between Ripe and Stephanie’s Saturnalia
At about 46:05, Pete references some cringy and skillful scenes involving the workplace
At about 47:10, Sarah speaks on the often-unchecked CEOs and bigshots in tech companies
At about 50:05, Pete cites a few moments worthy of Cassie’s “crystal jar”
At about 50:40, Pete reads and heaps praise upon a particularly profound and apt passage
At about 52:20, Sarah reacts to Pete’s question about the staying power of her book
At about 54:45, Pete and Sarah discuss the book’s ending
At about 59:00, Sarah talks about exciting new projects
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Please tune in for Episode 224 with Peter Coviello, a scholar of American literature and queer theory, whose work addresses the entangled histories of sex, devotion, and intimate life in imperial modernity. He’s also the author of six books, including Is There God After Prince?: Dispatches from an Age of Last Things, which was selected for The Millions’ “Most Anticipated” list for 2023.
The episode will air on February 20.
Episode 233 with Jazmina Barrera Velázquez, Author of Cross-Stitch/Punto de Cruz, and Wise Chronicler of the Vagaries of Friendship and History and their Effects on the World
Episode 232 with Kate Brody, Author of Rabbit Hole and Master of Writing Intriguing and Flawed Characters and Crackling Plotlines
Episode 231-April 13, 2024 Live Event to Launch Jose Vadi's Chipped, a reflective, creative, subtly brilliant essay collection
Episode 230 with Chelsea T. Hicks, Author of the Story Collection, A Calm & Normal Heart, Revitalizer and Student of the Osage Language, and Crafter of Poetic, Timely, and Timeless Stories
Episode 229 with Will Sommer, Author of Trust the Plan: The Rise of QAnon and the Conspiracy That Reshaped America, and Keen and Thorough Chronicler of the QAnon Movement Through The Washington Post
Episode 228 with Jennifer Croft, Author of The Extinction of Irena Rey and Award-Winning Translator, and Master of Worldbuilding, Highly-Allegorical Yet Masterfully-Plotted Fiction, and Nuance
Episode 227 with Gina Chung, Author of Green Frog, a Dazzling Collection of Poignant, Offbeat, Chillingly-Realistic and Fantastical Stories
Episode 226 with Priscilla Gilman, Author of The Critic's Daughter and Skilled and Thoughtful Chronicler of the Universal and the Intimately Personal
Episode 225 with Andrés N Ordorica, Author of How We Named the Stars and Generous Creator of Poignant, Resonant "Love and Loss" Scenes and Utterly Memorable Characters
Episode 224 with Peter Coviello, Enthusiastic and Deeply Knowledgeable Critic and Celebrator of Moving Art, and Author of the Essay Collection, Is There God After Prince
Episode 222 with Andrew Leland, Author of The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight, and Masterful Chronicler of His and Other Journeys with Blindness and its Intersections with our World
Episode 221 with Martha Anne Toll, Renaissance Woman, Book Reviewer, Creative, and Award-Winning Writer of the Moving, Contemplative Three Muses
Episode 220 with Aniefiok Epoudom: Keen Chronicler of Hip-Hop, Football Culture and Pop Culture in the UK, and Savvy and Nuanced Master of Telling Personal Stories; Author of
Episode 219 with Roxanna Asgarian, Principled and Dogged Reporter, Caring and Clear-Eyed Journalist and Author of We Were Once a Family: A Story of Love, Death, and Child Removal in America
Episode 218 with Melissa Rivero, Author of Flores and Miss Paula, Keen Observer of Modern Corporate Life and Nuanced Chronicler of Grief’s Many Permutations
Episode 217 with Jeff Sharlet, Author of The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War, and Sharp-Eyed Chronicler of Impending Fascism and Previous Fighters in The Movements
Episode 216 with Kate Maruyama: Author of Bleak Houses, Master Worldbuilder, and Skilled Observer and Chronicler of Family Traumas, Class and Privilege, and Psychological Horrors Modern and Timeless
Episode 215 with Nick Fuller Googins, Reflective and Dynamic Worldbuilder, Educator, and Creator of the ”Hopeful” Climate Crisis Novel, The Great Transition
Episode 214 with Leah Myers, Chronicler of the Heartfelt, the Specific, the Universal, and the Myth and Proud History of the Jamestown S’Klallam in the Memoir, Thinning Blood
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