Creative Conversation

From Kenyon News - November 11, 2016

When Stephanie Danler ’06 sat down as a first-year student in a creative writing seminar taught by Writer-in-Residence P.F. Kluge ’64, she probably never imagined sitting down with Kluge 10 years later to record a podcast. But the best-selling author of “Sweetbitter” did just that in September, when she returned to Gambier to give a reading sponsored by the Kenyon Review. Prior to the reading, Danler and Kluge spent 40 minutes discussing their respective writing processes, Danler’s memories of Kenyon and whether it is wise to read reviews of one’s own work.

The podcast, produced by the Review, is embedded below. Highlights include:

• In contrast with Kluge’s disciplined process of writing no more than three or four pages each morning, Danler writes in hours-long binges that may stretch over two or three days, to the exclusion of all other activities including cooking, cleaning and exercise.
• Danler has “not looked at [“Sweetbitter”] on Amazon once,” although her relatives are eager to give details of the best and worst reviews.
• Wondering which residence halls housed the budding writer as an undergraduate? During her four years at Kenyon, Danler lived in McBride, Manning and Leonard Halls, spending senior year in the (now demolished) Bexley Apartments.
• Danler’s career in the restaurant industry began behind the counter at Middle Ground Café, now known as Wiggin Street Coffee. After working in the industry for several years after graduation, becoming an expert in Spanish wines and gaining the experience that forms the heart of “Sweetbitter,” Danler produced her manuscript while earning a master’s degree in fine arts from the New School in New York City.