The Chills at Will Podcast podcast

Episode 287 with Hannah Pittard, Author of If You Love It, Let It Kill You, and Master Craftswoman of Memorable, Witty, Zany, Profound Dialogue, Characters, and Storylines

0:00
1:13:55
Rewind 15 seconds
Fast Forward 15 seconds

Notes and Links to Hannah Pittard’s Work

 

 

   Hannah Pittard is the author of six books, including the memoir WE ARE TOO MANY and the novel out as of today, IF YOU LOVE IT, LET IT KILL YOU. She is a winner of the Amanda Davis Highwire Fiction Award, a MacDowell fellow, and a professor of English at the University of Kentucky. She lives with her boyfriend and stepdaughter in Lexington. Much of her family lives nearby.

Buy If You Love It, Let It Kill You

 

Hannah Pittard's Website

 

If You Love It, Let It Kill You Excerpt with Recommendation from Maggie Smith for Electric Literature

 

“Two Writers Fell in Love, Married, Then Divorced. Who Gets the Story?” from The New York Times

At about 1:50, Hannah describes the evolution of her last name’s pronunciation 

At about 3:00, Hannah talks about the cover for If You Love It, Let it Kill You and describes her mindset in the leadup to her book’s publication 

At about 4:50, Pete shouts out Rachel Yoder’s Nightbitch, both the book and movie, and asks Hannah to cast a possible future movie for If You Love It, Let it Kill You

At about 7:20, Pete compliments the “snappy dialogue” of the book in asking Hannah about her family background and early intellectual life

At about 8:45, Hannah discusses the book as “100% fiction” while talking about her sister and family as “muses”

At about 9:55, Public urination is discussed, both within the book, and without 

At about 10:50, Hannah traces her early reading life and how she “fell in love with books” and shouts out Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, and Tim O’Brien (In the Lake of Woods)

At about 14:30, Pete brings up James Frey in discussing the fine line between fiction and nonfiction, as discussed by Hannah with regard to In the Lake of the Woods’ brilliance

At about 15:30, Ann Beattie, Grace Paley, Alice Munro, are referenced as big influences on Hannah’s writing and reading in college and right after, as she traces her semi-accidental foray into MFA

At about 17:20, Hannah talks about updating her contemporary reading as she entered MFA, including her early reading of Infinite Jest! 

At about 19:15, Alice Munro’s “upsetting” story is discussed as is Claire Deder’s Monsters, in the larger discussion about problematic and damaging authors 

At about 22:50, Hannah discusses her current reading, including Honor Jones’ Sleep, and Lynn Stever Strong’s , and the series Storybook ND

At about 25:40, Hannah shouts out the book’s publisher and places to buy the book, including Good Neighbor Books in upstate NY and Exile in Bookville in Chicago 

At about 27:40, the two discuss Margaret Atwood’s “cameo” in the book and Atwood’s epigraph

At about 28:55, Pete takes another opportunity to shout out Jess Walter, Beautiful Ruins, and Edoardo Ballerini

At about 33:00, Hannah shouts out “Dog Heaven” by Stephanie Vaughn in a beautiful audio form read by Tobias Wolff, and the two fanboy/girl about Wolff’s “Bullet in the Brain”

At about 34:40, Pete lays out the book’s opening and Hannah replies to Pete’s question about her original and full chapter titles

At about 36:35, The two discuss the book’s exposition and plotline and how “Today I am restless” sets the scene for the book’s ethos

At about 40:00, Hannah shares some funny real-life stories from which she took pieces for her book’s characters

At about 41:55, Pete playfully laments the incredible veracity of Hannah’s writing 

At about 44:40, The two lay out a sort of “existential crisis” and an anxiety about contentment at the book’s beginning; Hannah notes the protagonist’s “place of privilege”

At about 47:10, Pete remarks on the book’s subtlety and Hannah on the protagonist’s “distanc[ing]” based on a past trauma 

At about 49:35, Hannah responds to Pete’s asking about the vagaries of memory and its connections to the protagonist’s actions and busy thoughts

At about 52:05, The two discuss the protagonist’s ennui 

At about 53:15, Hannah responds to Pete’s questions about the book’s choral/allegorical nature

At about 58:55, Hannah talks about the dynamic between the protagonist and her students, and Hannah’s own evolution in teaching more flexibly 

At about 1:02:05, Hannah responds to Pete’s wonderings and musings of “The Irishman” and the character’s implications 

At about 1:07:00, Hannah reflects on various iterations of scenes involving a threatening student 

At about 1:09:10, Pete cites Jess Walter’s ending for Beautiful Ruins, in raving about Hannah’s wonderful last line and skill in bringing the storyline full circle

You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow Pete on IG, where he is @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where he is @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both the YouTube Channel and the podcast while you’re checking out this episode.

      Pete is very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. His conversation with Hannah will be up in the next week or two at Chicago Review.

    Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl

     Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting Pete’s one-man show, DIY podcast and extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!

This month’s Patreon bonus episode features an exploration of writing projects that got away, as Pete discusses a particular writing project that had so much potential but is now unfinishable-at least he thinks so.

Pete has added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.

   This is a passion project, a DIY operation, and Pete would love for your help in promoting what he’s convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.

   The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.

    Please tune in for Episode 287 with Jordan Harper, whose 2017 novel She Rides Shotgun is being adapted and released through Lionsgate Studios on August 1, which is also when the episode airs.

More episodes from "The Chills at Will Podcast"