Aimee Bender

I get a little myopic in the act of doing any writing. I think I'm not as interested or not as able to write about balance, because I think there's something I want to try to get at. I'm trying to get at something about the experience of growing up or about families. ”

At readings, audience members sometimes ask if I keep writing past the two hours if I'm on a roll, but I don't. I figure that if I'm on a roll, it's partially because I know I'm about to stop. ”

I like the idea of a place that is dealing with painful, messy, frightening, and very human events that is also so beautiful and ethereal. ”

I have trouble describing my own style, since it's sort of like describing my own eye color or something. ”

As a kid, I often figured it was good to be patient to a fault. ”

As a kid, I liked making up stories, and I wrote a story about a kangaroo and a bat with Christy Chang, and she went on to become a surgeon. ”

Large meadows are lovely for picnics and romping, but they are for the lighter feelings. Meadows do not make me want to write. ”

I noticed, when I taught elementary school, how true the squeaky wheel thing is, and how endearing squeaky wheels can be! Because when you're being a squeaky wheel, you're also really letting people know who you are. ”

I liked Hans Christian Andersen because the tales were so dark and tragic. ”

I love the idea of numerology, but I don't really believe in it. But I like thinking about what numbers convey. ”