Interview with Author Samuel Milligan

Samuel Milligan's entertaining story "On the Way to Nothing and Outbound from Nowhere" weaves a lot of elements together to make for a satisfying and weird read: a little spec fic alongside real-feeling and gloriously unpolished characters, skilled writing, and a good dose of absurdity. Read on to learn a little more about the author and his take on creativity below.

Why write?

Creating with intention—whether it is art or raising a child or community organizing or whatever else falls under that umbrella for you—is the highest calling we have. Writing is a practice of making choice after choice after choice after choice, consciously and subconsciously; writing is the only way I’ve found I can process the world around me and figure out what I actually think, value, and believe.

Advice on creating you had to learn the hard way?

If you are looking for a creative community, you might have to make it yourself. Your writing friends will not drop fully formed into your lap. But the readers and collaborators and co-conspirators you need to feel fulfilled, challenged, and stretched are out there.

What's your favorite underappreciated novel or short story (a work you rarely hear anyone else talking about)?

The Ceremony and Other Stories by Weldon Kees completely rewired how I think about writing. I bought it in a secondhand bookstore, Second Story Books, in Dupont Circle, because someone who hated the book had annotated all the stories in a bright pink pen, and I love reading other people’s annotations (“dumb sister,” the previous reader wrote, about a story where the narrator is exploiting his sibling for gin money). But the stories had a clarity of voice and approach that I was instantly jealous of and continue to chase in both my reading and writing. I’ve never seen that book anywhere else, and it has just a handful of reviews on Goodreads (one guy complains that Weldon Kees “was no James Joyce”—what a high bar to set!), so I feel the need to evangelize for it.

Do you have a favorite book that broke your brain a little (or a lot)?

People from my Neighborhood by Hiromi Kawakami. An absolutely magical book.

One sentence soapbox: 

If you’re waiting to get onto an elevator, you need to stand back from the doors so that people can exit before you smush your way in!

Do you enjoy editing? Why or why not?

I don’t love editing. I am a bad planner as a writer, and so the work I really love is the sort of sweaty, maniacal, had-this-idea-and-have-to-write-it-down-right-now-or-I’ll-lose-it moments. At the same time, every story I’ve ever felt really proud of has been a story that I’ve edited, taken feedback on, and reimagined after it was “done” (the first time). And when you get in an editing flow, it can feel just as magical as the first drafting! I just don’t like the idea of sitting down to edit. 

What is your favorite museum or gallery?

There’s a museum dedicated to umbrella covers on Peaks Island in Portland, Maine. Go there and the founder will sing you the theme song she wrote for the museum. She’s a sweet old lady who plays in a klezmer band. And, you can get ice cream for the ferry ride back to town.

Favorite character name (yours or another’s)?

Harrogate from Cormac McCarthy’s Suttree. One of the funniest character introductions I’ve ever read, and an excellent name to go with it. 

What do you aim to accomplish by writing?

I think deep down everything we create boils down to saying: This thing is like that thing. Or: This feels like that. When I read, or listen to music, or watch a play, the most moving moment is when the art tells you something about yourself or the world around you that you were previously unable to put into words. When I write, I hope someone reading can say: This is how I feel, or this is what I see, and I didn’t know how to say it until now.

Thoughts about penguins?

We’ve let them get away with it for too long.

Unpopular opinion, go: 

Small talk is great, actually. Please, tell me about the weather.

Sam Milligan (he/him) writes and lives in Washington, DC with his wife and their two cats. Find him playing pickup basketball, baking cookies, gossiping about theatre, or acting real normal about Philadelphia sports teams. Ask anyone. They'll tell you. Very normal. His work has appeared in HAD, Malarkey Books, Stanchion, and elsewhere. He's on Instagram at @sam_milligan98.