Episode 38 —Novelist Marilynne Robinson on Writing, Memory, and Truth with host Chloe Aftel American novelist and essayist Marilynn Robinson sits down with host Chloe Aftel to discuss the idea of writing as a practice of honesty, reflection, and attention to lived experience while allowing both real life and remembrance to help shape narratives. Robinson emphasizes the importance of truth in writing and frames her approach as taking in the world around you, and translating it into words. She views simplicity not as a limitation, but as a discipline that requires careful attention and sincerity. They also discuss the relationship between memory and storytelling, and how personal history informs perspective. Robinson reflects on writing as an ongoing practice, emphasizing that the act itself holds just as much value as the final outcome. Highlights: - Marilynn Robinson discusses her approach to writing, speaking about how evocation and lived experience informs a narrative - She describes the act of writing as an act of reflection rather than performance, requiring honesty on behalf of the writer - She discusses her perspective on simplicity in writing, viewing it as a way to make stories more accessible Biographies: Marilynn Robinson is an American Novelist born in Sandpoint, Idaho in 1943. She studied at Pembroke College for her undergraduate and later received her PhD in English from the University of Washington in 1977. She speaks about writing as an ongoing process of observance, remembrance, and expression, viewing it not as something to perfect, but something to practice. To her, writing is a way to process life, make sense of events and emotions, and preserve them in a form that remains both accessible and genuine. Her body of work highlights the value of authenticity and attentiveness in both writing and life, with some of her notable pieces include Housekeeping (1980), Gilead (2004),and Home (2008). She has won thePulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2005, National Humanities Medal in 2012, and the 2016 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction, Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2009, National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction in 2004 & 2015, PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay in 1999 and others. https://www.chloeaftel.com/ has spent her career working in commercial photography, photojournalism, and film. She’s an established name in modern photography with work featured in The New York Times, Mother Jones, Playboy, Dazed & Confused, Vogue Germany, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wall Street Journal, Vogue Italia, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Teen Vogue, and more. Aftel has photographed victims of sexual violence, reported on COVID 19’s impact on the trans community, and gained access as the first reporter in COVID wards of the West Coast’s hardest-hit hospitals. She has covered underground abortion providers, the impact of gender pronouns on daily life, and clergy abuse. Aftel’s first book, https://www.chloeaftel.com/outside-inbetween, is an award-winning anthology covering gender non-conforming people across the United States.

📣 New Podcast! "Episode 38 —Novelist Marilynne Robinson on Writing, Memory, and Truth with host Chloe Aftel" on @Spreaker #author #essay #essayist #honesty #memory #merilynnrobinson #pod #podcast #truth #writing

A photo of an Indian woman from the neck up, wearing a headscarf

Born today: Indian writer Mahadevi Verma, born 26 March 1907, was a Hindi-language poet, essayist, sketch story writer and renowned figure in Hindi literature.

#india #indian #indianwriter #hindi #hindiliterature #literature #writer #writing #womenwrite #poetry #essay #essayist #stories

Remembering the birthday of Mary Flannery O'Connor, award-winning American #writer and #essayist - Recipient of the National Book Award (1972). 📚💙

More: www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/art... -and- andalusiafarm.org?page_id=5126

#writers #quotes on #writing
#FlanneryOConnor

Treefort Music Fest! If you're in (or near) the Treasure Valley, I hope you come to Storyfort. I'll be on panels, reading, signing, and more (oh my!) this week. @treefortfest.bsky.social @wassmuthcenter.bsky.social @tomasbaiza.bsky.social @johnbarrie.bsky.social #booktour #writing #poetry #essayist

They created money, the real god; they created a virtual entity called the state to control societies; they exploit billions of people; and they prevent awakening. 👇

#publishing #publish #editor #book #satire #satirist #essay #essayist #author #writer #us #uk My pen is more powerful than Che's machine gun, even more powerful than America's atomic bomb, but I can't find a stage. 👇 senolonay.blogspot.com/2026/03/they...

Edward Hoagland, Literary Explorer of Nature and Himself #obitpix #edwardhoagland #essayist #brushdrawing #illustration

Edward Hoagland, Literary Explorer of Nature and Himself, Dies at 93

RIP to my former Bennington professor - a lovely person of whom I have fond memories. #EdwardHoagland #Bennington #writers #nature #essayist

“John Updike called him “the best essayist of my generation”

www.mipic.co/purchase/fra...
#mayaangelou #Americanmemoirist, #essayist, #poet #activist #civilrights #framedart #artprint #canvasprint

Edward Abbey's Birth Anniversary

#EdwardAbbey #BirthAnniversary #American #Author #Essayist #USA #Power #Truth #Enemy #Quote #RightToTruth

Soften the Eyes It's more than an insomnia cure

If we want to express these golden virtues, it takes work. It takes self-awareness to realize that we’re not always the people we aspire to be.
open.substack.com/pub/cindyvil...
#writingcommunity #indieauthors #authorsofbluesky #essayist

Xu Xi: Kickbacks The acclaimed Hong Kong born and raised author asks, "To witness death at a distance, while you are safe as houses, how do you grieve?"

TFP is honored to have Xu Xi, the acclaimed author of 15 books, as our first guest #essayist for 2026. “The elegance of her language is breath-taking,” says #novelist Kim Echlin. Read the following #essay and you’ll agree:

michaeljudge.substack.com/p/xu-xi-kick...

"This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language.

"That is how civilizations heal."

—Toni Morrison

#tonimorrison #novelist #essayist #humanity #art #artists #heal

Remembering the birthday of Jim Harrison, I am taking his advice and #writing with my whole life. 📚💙

More: James “Jim” Harrison, American #writer #poet #essayist and #screenwriter - www.theparisreview.org/interviews/2...

#writers #quotes on #writing
#JimHarrison

Lady Aranea | Patreon I stream video games and do book reviews!

New polls out on my patreon! What regular content should I produce? What essay should I write? Go become a member and give me your opinion at www.patreon.com/ladyaranea!

#Patreon #Streamer #Author #Essayist #VTuber #MonsterGirl

Roland Barthes | Biography & Facts | Britannica French essayist and critic whose writings on semiotics helped establish structuralism and the New Criticism.

#OTD in 1915 #French literary theorist and #essayist Roland Barthes was born in Cherbourg. Barthes is best known for collection Mythologies, which reflected upon popular culture, and the "The Death of the Author", which critiqued traditional approaches in literary criticism.

Blue Is the Warmest Colour The Night Trumpism Hit the Wall

The cult collapsed. The country exhaled. 💙 #BlueWave #DemocracyWins #TrumpedOut #PoliticalWriting #PostTrumpAmerica #FascismFails #Essayist #SubstackWriters #AmericanPolitics

www.trumped-out.com/p/blue-is-th...

It was an honor to be a source for my former professor in this episode of a lecture series she did on #writing #essays. #blogging #bloggingcommunity #writingcommunity #essayist #nonfiction #greatcourses
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOVS...

It was a soft October night

——— T. S. Eliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

Photography: Anja Bührer

#tseliot #playwright #poet #essayist #anjabührer #photography

She Needs a Good Grooming You need a lesson in manners

Words matter, and these words floored me. My geriatric cancer patient dog is lost and that’s your comment? Who is that soulless?
#writingcommunity #booksky
#essayist #authorsofbluesky

open.substack.com/pub/cindyvil...

It Takes a Village Creation is easy; birthing is hard

Oh, but what joy there is in hearing someone say how much she enjoyed the story, how she fell in love with a character, or a plot line.
#writingcommunity #blueskywriters #essayist #indieauthors #contemporaryromance

open.substack.com/pub/cindyvil...

Andrew McDowell An Author of Many Parts

Be sure to visit my site and subscribe to my blog if you haven't already. The site's had a few minor tweaks recently. #indieauthor #indiebooks #fantasyauthor #novelist #poet #shortstorywriter #essayist #blogger #authorcommunity #writerscommunity #blogging #shamelessselfpromo andrewmcdowellauthor.com

Look what's on Amazon! The dusty baker's 7th book! #joederozier #deroziersbakery #booksky💙📚 #christinacrump #indianaauthor #hoosierwriter #essayist #peruindiana a.co/d/aZ2pC1u

Who is Oliver Kornetzke? Rising Political Commentator Gaining Attention Oliver Kornetzke is a political commentator known for bold essays on U.S. politics, democracy, and authoritarianism. Read about Oliver Kornetzke writings, essays, Substack, blog, Facebook, Instagram, ...

Who is Oliver Kornetzke? Rising Political Commentator Gaining Attention
#OliverKornetzke #PoliticalCommentary #DemocracyWatch #USPolitics #OpinionWriter #Authoritarianism #IndependentVoices #PoliticalCritic #Essayist #FreedomVsPower
gtvnewshd.com/biography/20...

Sunrise No matter what, it always comes

open.substack.com/pub/cindyvil...
#writingcommunity #indieauthors #essayist

James Alan McPherson | Pulitzer Prize, short stories, essays | Britannica James Alan McPherson was an American author whose realistic, character-driven short stories examine racial tension, the mysteries of love, the pain of isolation, and the contradictions of American…

#OTD in 1943 #American #essayist James Alan McPherson was born in Georgia, US. McPherson was the first African-American writer to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and was included among the first group of artists who received a MacArthur Fellowship.

On Sunday, #essayist DJ Waldie spoke at #LAPL about his new collection of essays titled “Elements of Los Angeles: Earth, Water, Air, Fire.” acp.lapl.org/book/element... #BookSky

“Vin Scully was talking about the weather that June evening, about the twilight gathering in the outfield…”

Charles Dudley Warner | American essayist | Britannica Other articles where Charles Dudley Warner is discussed: Hartford: … (both houses preserved), the writer Charles Dudley Warner, the poet Wallace Stevens, the educator Henry Barnard, and the…

#OTD in 1829 #American #essayist and #novelist Charles Dudley Warner was born in Massachusetts, US. Warner lectured frequently, and was interested in movements for the public good. He was a friend of Mark Twain, with whom he co-authored the novel "The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today"

Eugene Field Poems, readings, poetry news and the entire 110-year archive of POETRY magazine.

#OTD in 1850 #American #poet and #essayist Eugene Field was born in Missouri, US. Field is best known for his children's poetry and humorous essays, and was known as the "poet of childhood".

Remembering the birthday of Jorge Luis Borges, I #amwriting a dream of words. #booksky

More: Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo KBE, Argentine short-story #writer #essayist #poet and #translator -
www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/jorge-...

#writers #quotes on #writing and #words #dreams

Remembering the birthday of Jorge Luis Borges -
Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo KBE - Argentine short-story #writer #essayist #poet and #translator

More: www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/jorge-...

#booksky
#writers #quotes #prescience