Reservoir of Love
The Body, Brain, and Books: Eleven Questions with writer Lauren Aliza Green
Welcome to another edition of The Body, Brain, & Books. If you enjoy reading these quick, insightful interviews brimming with wisdom and hope, please subscribe to Beyond.
Lauren Aliza Green is the author of The World After Alice (Viking/Penguin, 2024) and A Great Dark House, winner of the Poetry Society of America's Chapbook Fellowship. Her work has appeared in Lit Hub, American Short Fiction, Threepenny Review, and elsewhere. You can read her recent essay for Beyond on Marriage, Adultery, and Grief here.
What are you reading now?
I recently finished the most wonderful biography: Stephen Sondheim: A Life by Meryle Secrest. I was bereft upon finishing it. I enjoy reading artists’ biographies, observing how others have dealt with the trials and successes that come along with this path. Here’s a quote from Sondheim I highlighted: “You know, I had the idealistic notion, when I was twenty, that I was going into the theatre. I wasn’t; I was going into show business, and I was a fool to think otherwise.”
What are your most beloved books from your youth? Did you ever hide any from your parents?
Like many writers, I was a voracious reader. I felt most comfortable immersed in other worlds. I had a CD called “Once Upon a Fairytale,” which featured celebrities reading popular nursery stories like Little Red Riding Hood and Rumpelstiltskin. I listened to it every night before bed. I also had a book about children in peril: Baby Jessica who fell down the well, a pair of siblings who survived an alligator attack. And yes, I hid most books I read—though not for any good reason!
What’s your favorite book to reread? Any that helped you through a dark time?
Two books spring to mind. The first is Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse. As soon as I open the front cover, I am transported anew by Woolf’s vision and the attention she pays to the world. The second is Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan series, which I reread each year. How does she capture so much, and with such authenticity?
What’s an article of clothing that makes you feel most like you?
A few years ago, my mother gave me a T-shirt patterned with bars of music. Every time I put it on, my husband says, “Ah, your favorite shirt.” When I walk around the world in this shirt, I feel as if I am expressing something deep within. Unfortunately, the company that manufactured the design no longer carries it; otherwise, I’d buy a dozen of them and make it my uniform.
What’s the best piece of wisdom you've encountered recently?
I began reading Mary Rodgers’ memoir this morning. In it, she writes, “There are few straight lines in life, and how you get from one thing to another—and then to another—is more a testament to resilience than brilliance.” I love that.
6. Tell me about any special relationship you’ve had with an animal, domestic or wild?
I’ve had the fortune of both loving and being loved by two incredible bunnies. The first was my rabbit Tux, whom I adopted when I was eighteen. He lived with me for nine years, moving with me from college in New York City to graduate school in Austin, and from there to a fellowship in Georgia. I miss him dearly. My current rabbit, Theodosia (Theo, for short), is filled with boundless love and kindness. It might sound silly to someone who hasn’t owned a pet, but she reminds me daily to approach the world more gently and to remain open.
What's one thing you are happy worked out differently than you expected?
My life is made up of happy accidents. Of course, at the time of these accidents, I hardly considered them such. Only in retrospect does it become clear that each disappointment steersus down the right path. One example: I spent most of my young life training in the theater. I even attended a year of drama conservatory. Seventeen-year-old me was certain she knew what she wanted, and it was this. Thank goodness for the misery that year brought me, if only because it pointed me toward writing.
Singing in the shower or dancing in the kitchen? Or another favorite way your body expresses itself?
Both! I have a nightly karaoke ritual, though—so we’ll give the edge to singing.
What are your hopes for yourself?
To not play it safe; to continue to create; to nourish my reservoir of love and be a feeder for others’ reservoirs; to preserve a sense of childlike wonder; to never be afraid to stand up for what’s right.
What’s a kindness that changed your life?
Oh, too many. As someone who has spent much time solo traveling, I’ve been saved many times (literally) by the generosity of others: two hikers who rescued me on a mountaintop in Iceland; a woman in Slovakia who allowed me to sleep on her couch; strangers who welcomed me to their dinner table. I sometimes wonder if these people know how often I think of them. I try to pay it forward whenever I can. As George Eliot wrote, “What do we live for, if not to make life less difficult for each other?”
What’s a guiding force in your life?
I’m tempted to divide this question into internal forces—my sense of curiosity, my devotion to art, my ever-constant awareness of the specter of death—and external ones: my family, music, the work of those on whose shoulders I stand. It all adds up to a single blinding force that propels me forward.
If you enjoyed Lauren’s questionnaire, you may also enjoy this one with Rachel Cantor:
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This. To be printed and posted and read daily. “To not play it safe; to continue to create; to nourish my reservoir of love and be a feeder for the reservoirs of others; to preserve a sense of childlike wonder; to not be afraid to stand up for what’s right.”
Jane and Lauren thank you for this wonderful interview. I appreciate a sneak peek into how another person navigates life, everything from the gorgeous Theo to your inner landscape. Every time you share your story like this it helps someone feel less alone in the world.