"Never intended to write a trilogy of smutty novels that take place in the 90s. It just happened."
I don’t know how it happened. Can’t remember the logistics, but she offered me an extra ticket to see Throbbing Gristle for one of the final dates of their first American tour since 1981. I stood in the middle of a crowd of predominately white, thirty-ish year old males (most of which were clad in all black clothing and balding, or well on their way) my heart pounding to the waves of harsh frequencies, insides rattling, entranced by TG’s sinister noise. At that moment, I knew that Randi Black was probably one of the coolest people ever for granting me a very amazing experience . . .
Here's my quick chat with her:
K-rza: Let’s just begin with your basic question. When did you start writing and why?
Randi Black: When? Like, when I was 8. My parents were really strict and didn't let me go out much - Not that any of the kids wanted to hang out with me because I was nerdy and they thought I was a foreigner. I always had this runaway imagination and it was a good match. The fact that it pissed off my mom was a plus.
K: Where are you from?
RB: Southern California. San Dimas? Like, Bill and Ted? Which is why most of my writing takes place in that general area.
K: Excellent.
RB: Yes, I used to shoplift candy from the Circle K - which was behind the magical phone booth.
K: So what brought you to Chicago?
RB: A man not worth mentioning much. But he brought me to Chicago which led me to build the life that I now lead here, so that was one thing he was good for. I’ve been here for like 13 years now. I just never left. Chicago ended up adopting me…
Sometimes, I dream of leaving this country and becoming a librarian/archivist in a socialist European country. Never been to Berlin, but I’ve always felt this pull towards that city. I Can't explain it. I took German for 2 years as an undergrad, too. When I ditched class, I'd listen to Einsturzende Neubauten and pretend to make up for it. I love how the language sounds. And the fact that "to hate" and "to have" are very close in spelling.
K: When did you begin to take writing seriously - thinking of it in terms of your livelihood. Was it upon arriving to Chicago or before?
RB: When I was a teenager. I was at Tower Records and discovered Kathy Acker. I thought she looked so fucking cool with her short hair and tattoos, and dreamed of having my own books on the shelves of their stores. Yes, that chain in particular. They used to carry a lot of zines and small-press publications and I love the energy they all gave off.
K: Kathy Acker holds a very special place in my heart as well. Your mention of tower records brings me to something that I really want to talk about - because you probably know how much I love music. What role does music play in relation to your writing?
RB: Oh, fuck yes. Music inspires me more than other writers, even When I hear something, I'll get the idea for a scene or a plot point. It also puts me in the proper state of mind. I was listening to Nurse With Wound this morning and knew I had to write a sex scene to "She And Me Fall Together In Free Death."
K: What I really like about your writing is that you capture this particular scene and attitude of the 90s - the post-punkness of it (if you will) - so well. I can't really articulate what I'm trying to say, but it's an era and music scene that I really idolize, but am a bit too young and was geographically disadvantaged to have actually experienced. Even the way you read puts me in mind of Kim Gordon (I’m thinking Sonic Youth’s song “The Sprawl” for some reason - maybe a bit more snotty) and it only enhances the vitality of your characters. I understand that you’re writing a series of novels set in this “world.” Can you talk about this collection? The novels are interconnected right?
RB: Thank you - you totally get what I'm trying to do. Yeah, the novels are interconnected. They're centered around Kim Ho, this Chinese-American rape survivor who comes from an oppressive background and finds her escape in music, dirty books, and sex.Miss World is about her giving up on wanting to play guitar and sing after she gets raped by an older man who strings her along by telling her they're gonna be in a band together. There's a war inside her head and she's haunted by this young ghost of Kurt Cobain who's equivalent to the pure, perfect virgin that she could never be. She ends up falling for Walter, the slow kid from school and gets rid of her ghost. He helps her recover and take back her body. Then she realizes Walter has a violent temper and cares more about avenging her rape than their relationship. It ends on an uncertain note, right before they're about to reunite. There's a sequence in Miss World where Kim strips for Walter while The Stooges’ "Gimme Danger" is playing and I always thought, shit, that's right where she shakes off everything her family and classmates have told her...
You know, I ended up taking Punk 101 instead of a writing workshop during my last semester at The Art Institute, because I was like this close to getting into a fight with someone last semester in workshop and wanted a change. That class drew out a lot of emotions and memories in me, and inspired me more than most workshops. It was weird. I was like a 16 year old again, but in grad school.
And if you want to get very specific, the role music plays in the three novels I’ve been working on is pretty significant. Miss World (no. 1) : named after a Hole song, takes place during Kurt Cobain's death and the aftermath. Two Sides Of The Beast (no.2): named after a Gun Club album, dedicated to the memory of Jeffrey Lee Pierce. Jigsaw Feeling (no.3): Somehow that song is appropriate for the tension and confusion the protagonist goes through.
K: Okay, I wanna hear more about Punk 101. How did it influence you, exactly. I can imagine it was very inspiring.
RB: Yes, it totally was. It was a class where we listened to music and watched films, then discussed them. The reading assignments were books I loved reading, anyway (my favorite books are music biographies and the like, and don't have that many literary favorites). It was like, “Okay, I'm going to listen to this some more and rewrite a certain scene." Or, when the instructor screened "The Year Punk Broke" and the film opened with a live version of Sonic Youth's “Schizophrenia,” I was like, "There has to be a scene where my characters see this band and this song's playing." For better or worse, music is tied with memories and associations. There have been things that I haven't wanted to listen to because of stupid exes or bad situations that I'm finally starting to play again. The day we screened the "Decline of Western Civilization," I was about to cry because I got to reclaim that movie, too. What I’ve been doing these past few years is listening to lots of music and taking things back through writing.
K: That's really cool. God, I wish I had known that that class was offered.
RB: You would've loved it. There was a no wave class and we listened to The Contortions and saw Vivienne Dick's "Beauty Becomes The Beast."
K: I’m interested in hearing you talk about your process as a writer. You surely are one of the most productive people I know, personally. Have you always been that way, or have you just really gotten into a good groove these last few years?
K: So once you get these novels to a good point, how do you plan on getting your work out there? And who do you think your audience should or will be?
RB: I don't know anymore! I used to dream of agents, a large press, big book tours with trashed hotel rooms, but I have no idea now. Right now, I'm happy concentrating on my work and don't want to think about these necessary evils. Unfortunately, I need to if I want to get anywhere in life, and it's got to happen eventually. I always imagined my audience being misfit girls from their teens to late thirties, who have been through what my characters have been through and who know and love the music. Or want to get more acquainted with it. The one thing I'm grateful for right now is not having a publisher who might want to dictate how this and that will end. They'll end it the way they want.
K: Yeah, that's a good way of looking at it. Way I see it, "If you build it, they will come." And I definitely think they'll come for you.
RB: I hope so.
Interview & Photos by Karissa Lang
