Episode 294: Sheila Heti

Sheila Heti is the author of seven books. Her latest is Motherhood: A Novel.

“[My parents] were afraid for me. As anybody who has a kid who wants to be a writer. I think they understood it was a hard life. It was a life in which you wouldn’t necessarily make enough money. It was a life in which you might be setting yourself up for a great amount of disappointment. My dad’s father was a painter, so there was in him this idea that it wasn’t so crazy to him. It wasn’t so outside his understanding. And, yeah, my mom thought it was a bad idea. And it probably is a bad idea in a lot of ways, but my dad was supportive but also cautioning. I think the book really moved [my mom] and really had an effect on her, so maybe you understand that it’s not necessarily a frivolous thing to be doing. Maybe it’s not just playing. I think my mom always had this idea that writing is playing, and it is playing, but it’s a serious kind of playing.”

Thanks to MailChimp, MUBI, and Tripping.com for sponsoring this week's episode.

@sheilaheti

Heti on Longform

[01:40] How Should a Person Be?: A Novel from Life (Henry Holt and Co. • 2012)

[01:45] Motherhood: A Novel (Henry Holt and Co. • 2018)

[2:50] Sheila Heti’s archive at The Believer

[07:30] The Middle Stories (McSweeny’s • 2012)

[07:35] Ticknor (House of Anansi Press • 2005)

[09:10] Let It Come Down: The Life of Paul Bowles (Jennifer Baichwal • Zeitgeist Films • 2003)

[36:50] Emergency Contact (Mary H. K. Choi • Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers • 2018)
[42:35] Da Ali G Show (Sacha Baron Cohen • Channel 4 • 2000)

[46:00] "Finding Raffi" (New York Magazine • Dec 2015)
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Sheila Heti is the author of seven books. Her latest is Motherhood: A Novel.

“[My parents] were afraid for me. As anybody who has a kid who wants to be a writer. I think they understood it was a hard life. It was a life in which you wouldn’t necessarily make enough money. It was a life in which you might be setting yourself up for a great amount of disappointment. My dad’s father was a painter, so there was in him this idea that it wasn’t so crazy to him. It wasn’t so outside his understanding. And, yeah, my mom thought it was a bad idea. And it probably is a bad idea in a lot of ways, but my dad was supportive but also cautioning. I think the book really moved [my mom] and really had an effect on her, so maybe you understand that it’s not necessarily a frivolous thing to be doing. Maybe it’s not just playing. I think my mom always had this idea that writing is playing, and it is playing, but it’s a serious kind of playing.”

Thanks to MailChimp, MUBI, and Tripping.com for sponsoring this week's episode.

@sheilaheti

Heti on Longform

[01:40] How Should a Person Be?: A Novel from Life (Henry Holt and Co. • 2012)

[01:45] Motherhood: A Novel (Henry Holt and Co. • 2018)

[2:50] Sheila Heti’s archive at The Believer

[07:30] The Middle Stories (McSweeny’s • 2012)

[07:35] Ticknor (House of Anansi Press • 2005)

[09:10] Let It Come Down: The Life of Paul Bowles (Jennifer Baichwal • Zeitgeist Films • 2003)

[36:50] Emergency Contact (Mary H. K. Choi • Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers • 2018)
[42:35] Da Ali G Show (Sacha Baron Cohen • Channel 4 • 2000)

[46:00] "Finding Raffi" (New York Magazine • Dec 2015)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices