Michael Cunningham: Writing is a Cultivated Delusion

Baptized in Glitter

I find Michael Cunningham's conversational skill to be that of a rogue mystic poet- often finding a way to tell the simplest of stories with a gravitas that makes you feel like you've unlocked a divine mystery. We met at a radical faerie commune in Tennessee, kept in touch after that and then quickly found ourselves in a lusciously degenerate intimate party scene, staying up late and dancing in various apartments around New York City. We then further connected when we separated from our husbands at the same time almost a decade ago. He was a bit of a life preserver for me by actually offering a place to land when everything was topsy turvy. I've saved his life back once as well. Here's to those that save our lives. Our conversation was recorded in August 2020, we discuss details of his daily writing practice, how this pandemic compares to his experience of the Aids epidemic, what has changed for him in this isolation year, the challenges of teach creative writing at Yale in this era, and how he uses his birthday as a personal yearly census. Michael Cunningham is the Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Hours, By Nightfall, A Home at the End of the World and more. Moreover, he is also godfather to my son Tennyson, a dear friend, mentor and accomplice. He lives in Brooklyn, with his life partner of nearly 35 years, Ken Corbett. I must say THANK you to my patrons for giving me the vehicle and gas to make this work. I couldn't do it without their support. It is commercial free because of them. Please consider joining there at any level. To support the podcast yourself, go to https://patreon.com/rizolove