From time to time — not often enough — I’ve written about the importance of the writing community, of connecting with fellow writers and sharing work, ideas, even just support.
It’s another thing altogether when, within that broader writing community, you find some genuine writer friends. Such is the subject of a wonderful three-way interview that Rebecca Rubenstein conducted with Cheryl Strayed, Lidia Yuknavitch, and Suzy Vitello over on BuzzFeed.
It’s a beautiful thing to behold, these connections these three writers share. It’s especially thrilling for me because all three women are Portland writers, practically neighbors of mine. (I do know Lidia Yuknavitch a little bit, and I’ve met Cheryl Strayed a couple of times, but I don’t know Suzy Vitello yet, and I can’t claim any close friendship with any of these women. We just happen to run in overlapping circles.) But regardless of how well or how little I know any writer, reading a conversation like this is a fascinating window not only into the writer’s life but into writers’ lives, collectively, and that latter perspective is something we don’t pay enough attention to. So now’s your chance: go read Rebecca Rubenstein’s “Writerly Friendships: Cheryl Strayed, Lidia Yuknavitch, And Suzy Vitello.”
Samuel Snoek-Brown 