Kristen Martin will be reading at Difficult to Name on Saturday, September 9
You had a recent piece about growing up emo that was really great. Have you heard the new Brand New album? Thoughts?
Yes! I've been listening to it a lot lately and I really love it. I've grown up with Brand New—I first heard "Your Favorite Weapon" 15 years ago, when I was 13. I feel like "Science Fiction" represents not so much a reinvention of their sound (like their previous records did) but an evolution or synthesis of it. My favorite tracks so far are "Can't Get It Out" and "Waste."
What are you working on this fall?
I'm plugging away at revisions of my essay collection manuscript and writing new material for it. It's all about grief, cultural representations of it, and societal expectations of it. Plus a few unrelated freelance pieces here and there, and teaching at Baruch College and in the Columbia University Writing Center.
What can people expect from your reading?
EMO!