Art is something special because it can come up with a way of approaching the truth that is a little to the side.”
RACHEL KUSHNER
Rachel Kushner is one of America’s most exciting contemporary writers, a critically acclaimed novelist and master storyteller whose career is still on the rise.
Born in 1968 in Eugene, Oregon, she was the daughter of two Jewish Communist scientists. According to Kushner, they were “deeply unconventional people from the beatnik generation”—living on and off in an old school bus—before they took postdoctoral jobs at the University of California, San Francisco.
“Our parents had Ph.D.s, but we were dirty ragamuffin children. I spent a huge amount of time by myself. I daydreamed and learned how to be alone and not be lonely.”
At just 16, Kushner began a degree in political economy at the University of California. At 26, she enrolled in the fiction program at Columbia University, earning an MFA in creative writing. After that, she moved to New York City, working as a writer, editor, and journalist at the literary magazine Grand Street and writing reviews for Artforum.
In 2000, Kushner’s mother and aunts invited her to accompany them on a trip to Cuba, to see the lost world of their youth. “My mother told me many stories about her childhood in Cuba,” Kushner said later. “Living there had a profound impact on her and how she regards herself.”
This and other trips to Cuba inspired Kushner’s first novel, Telex from Cuba; a story set in the 1950s, following a group of Anglo-expatriates living in Cuba during the revolution. It was published in 2008 and was a finalist for that year’s National Book Award.
“Writing a first novel was an arduous crash course. I learned so much in the six years it took me to write it, mostly technical things pertaining to craft.”
While Kushner consciously avoids didacticism, her work often weaves political themes within the plot. Rich storytelling—“Story and plot…are the engine of a novel”—regularly punctuated with rewarding humor, believable characters, and a threaded narrative that carries the reader.
Kushner released her latest book, a collection of essays called The Hard Crowd, earlier this year. Part literary journalism, part memoir, part cultural criticism, the book focuses on art and literature and includes pieces on artist Jeff Koons and writers Denis Johnson and Marguerite Duras.
Kushner lives in Los Angeles, California, with her husband and son.
“We’re all performing for someone.”
HAPPENINGS
THE HOLIDAY SHOWCASE – Four Hundred Years of Holidays on Cape Cod
Thursday, November 18–Saturday, November 20th, from 9am–5pm
The Holiday Showcase
A magical and majestic showcase for the holiday season, thanks to the talents of the Garden Club of Hyannis. Each area will be decorated with fresh floral arrangements and captivating tablescapes, wreaths, swags, container plants, artwork, furnishings, and accents. The exterior facade and entryways will be dressed with lush greens, berries, ribbons, baubles and bangles.
The 2021 Magnificent Boutique will offer over 2,000 artistically designed, handcrafted holiday items for sale. Perfect treasures to dress up your home for the holidays or to give as gifts for family, friends, and teachers!
$20 ($25 at door)