Paula Bomer Reflects

by Roxane Gay

Q. How did “Homesick” come about?

I wrote “Homesick” after a long bout of not writing due to being pregnant with my first child, which for some reason took over my entire mind and I could not write, and his subsequent birth, which kept me very, very busy and exhausted from taking care of him. He grew bigger, I got a part-time job and I started to write during my lunch breaks. I’d sit with a sandwich at my desk and write for about an hour. In the collection, Bad Behavior by Mary Gaitskill, the final story, “Heaven,” covers a lot of time. I would call it sweeping. That is what I aimed for with “Homesick” and it, too, is the final story in my forthcoming collection.

Q. What makes fiction necessary for you?

A. Fiction is necessary to me because I’ve made it so. For more than twenty years, reading and writing fiction has been the main focus of my life outside of my family. I’m dedicated to the art of fiction and in return, it feeds my life.

Q. What song would you pair with this story?

A. Violoncelles, Vibrez! by Giovanni Sollima from the album, Tracing Astor. It’s all ache and joy intertwined and very “sweeping.”

posted by Roxane Gay