Seeking Salvation: an Interview with Chris J. Bahnsen
Chris J. Bahnsen's story "Moshing for the Dead" offers readers a moment of catharsis and connection in the face of grief. Read our interview with the author to learn his reading recs, the wildest thing he's seen a shark do, and why he believes fiction is our salvation.
What would you tell another weird writer or artist to help them continue the practice?
Never let anyone make you feel that your weirdness is a disability or a dirty word. Weird is a state of grace, a set of wings on which we rise above this sullied world.
Do you write by hand or at the keyboard? Why do you prefer one or the other?
By hand for the first draft, so there’s no temptation to edit or delete during the birthing of a story. Freehand cursive also helps me generate and sustain flow state.
What's your favorite underappreciated novel or short story (a work you rarely hear anyone else talking about)?
“A Passion in the Desert” by Balzac, in which a French soldier lost in the desolate sands of Egypt has an adversarial encounter with a female panther as they both shelter in a cave. Via Balzac’s masterful hand, their relationship evolves into a most dangerous love affair.
What other lit journals are you into right now (and what do you like about them)? We like to spread the love.
Agni rocks across the board whether its fiction, nonfiction, or poetry—but their short stories especially stand out in that they maintain a high standard that is not oft deviated from; Five Points also puts out an ultra-fine journal, featuring heavyweight fictionists like Dorthe Nors, and ace poets from around the world.
Favorite book title (regardless of content)?
Two truths and a lie, please.
1. I once found a dead body.
2. I once saw an 18-foot great white shark devour a thanksgiving turkey then spit it back out (see my nonfiction flash story “A Matter of Taste”).
3. Oh how I love a legion of cicadas serenading my summer evenings from July to end of hell.
Best unlikely piece of advice you’ve received that’s helped you continue writing?
“You’re really better as a nonfiction writer.” A comment from a former mentor, which made me work hard on my fiction until I began to publish short stories and, thus, show this person they were dead wrong.
Unpopular opinion, go:
Fiction is not a dying art form. It is our salvation. New scientific evidence found that reading simply for pleasure, as opposed to for quick hits of information, is medicine for the brain. It opens us to greater empathy, reduces loneliness, improves mental health and memory, and reduces risk of cognitive decline.
Chris J. Bahnsen is known as a "zebra" by his Chicano uncles, in that he is half Mexican and half White, and thus walks the strange and sometimes precarious edge between cultures. He is an assistant editor with Narrative Magazine and a lifelong guitarist who divides his time between Southern California and Northwest Ohio. He can be found on Instagram at bahn_voyage.
