Books on the Bed

This week we visit with Elizabeth Gonzalez James in Sharon, Massachusetts. 
Elizabeth Gonzalez James is a screenwriter and bestselling author of the novels, The Bullet Swallower and Mona at Sea, as well as the chapbook, Five Conversations About Peter Sellers. The Bullet Swallower was named a best book of 2024 by NPR, Esquire, and elsewhere, was a Book of the Month Club pick, and was featured on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” as one of their spring book club picks. Elizabeth was featured on the MSNBC documentary “My Generation” representing the Millennials. She has taught fiction writing at Grub Street, Pioneer Valley Writers Workshop, Story Studio, and elsewhere. Originally from South Texas, Elizabeth now lives with her family in Massachusetts.
Elizabeth’s Books on the Bed:
Jorge Luis Borges: Collected Fictions
Temporary by Hilary Leichter
The Dog of the South by Charles Portis
CivilWarLand in Bad Decline by George Saunders
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Mona by Pola Oloixarac
Rilke’s Book of Hours: Love Poems to God
Matt’s gifts for Elizabeth:
Blood Test by Charles Baxter 
Recollecting: Lives of Aboriginal Women of the Canadian Northwest and Borderlands by Sarah Carter and Patricia A. McCormack
 

This week we visit with Rachel Beanland in Richmond, Virginia.
Rachel is the author of two novels, The House Is On Fire (Simon & Schuster, 2023) and Florence Adler Swims Forever (Simon & Schuster, 2020).
The House Is On Fire was selected as an Indie Next pick by the American Booksellers Association, a ‘GMA Buzz Pick’ by Good Morning America, a “most anticipated” book by the Washington Post, and one of the best books of 2023 by NPR and The New Yorker.
Beanland’s debut novel, Florence Adler Swims Forever, was selected as a book club pick by Barnes & Noble, a featured debut by Amazon, an Indie Next pick by the ABA, and one of the best books of 2020 by USA Today. It was also named a New York Times Editors’ Choice and was recognized with the 2020 National Jewish Book Award for Debut Fiction.
Beanland attended the University of South Carolina and earned her MFA in creative writing from Virginia Commonwealth University. She has taught at the College of William & Mary, Virginia Commonwealth University, and the University of Richmond, where she was the 2023-24 Writer-in-Residence. Beanland lives in Richmond, Virginia with her family.
Rachel’s Books on the Bed:
The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan
Young Woman and the Sea: How Trudy Ederle Conquered the English Channel and Inspired the World by Glenn Stout
The Richmond Theater Fire: Early America’s First Great Disaster by Meredith Henne Baker
The Color of Water by James McBride
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
Matt’s gifts for Rachel: 
The Price of a Child by Lorene Cary
The Which Way Tree by Elizabeth Crook

This week we visit Kristen Gentry in Louisville, Kentucky.
Kristen is the author of Mama Said, longlisted for the 2024 PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Short Story Collection. She received her M.F.A. from Indiana University. Her award-winning fiction has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and appeared in Electric Literature, Crab Orchard Review, and other journals. She is a VONA and Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference alumna, former Director of Creative Writing at SUNY Geneseo, and a member of the inaugural Poets & Writers publicity incubator for debut writers. She lives and writes in her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.  
For more about Kristen and Mama Said: kristengentry.com
Kristen's Books on the Bed:
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf by Ntozake Shange
Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer
Gorilla, My Love by Toni Cade Bambara
Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts by Crystal Wilkinson
Matt's Gifts for Kristen:
Rattlebone by Maxine Clair
Fifth Born by Zelda Lockhart
 
 

This week we visit Gerry Wilson in Jackson, Mississippi.
A seventh generation Mississippian, Gerry Wilson grew up in the red clay hills of the north that she writes about in her debut novel, THAT PINSON GIRL, released by Regal House Publishing in February 2024. A story, “Tell Me Anything,” appeared in Persimmon Tree in June 2024. Another story, “A Language of Their Own,” was runner-up for The Porch Fiction Prize 2024. “Life Line” was a finalist in decembermagazine’s Curt Johnson Prose Award for Fiction and was published in december in the spring of 2023. Her short fiction has appeared in numerous other journals. Gerry is a 2025 Mississippi Arts Commission Literary Artist Fellowship recipient.
Gerry has a new Substack publication, “Stories I’m Old Enough to Tell,” where she writes—well—basically whatever is on her mind, but mostly about her writing journey.
For more about Gerry: gerrywilson.com
Gerry's Books on the Bed:
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
Can't Quit You, Baby by Ellen Douglas
Music of the Swamp by Lewis Nordan
A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor
Light in August by William Faulkner
A Curtain of Green & Other Stories by Eudora Welty
Matt's Gifts for Gerry:
The Five Wounds by Kirstin Valdez Quade
Room Swept Home by Remica Bingham-Risher

This week we visit Natachee Momaday Gray in Coyote, New Mexico.
Natachee is a New Mexican poet and artist whose work focuses on the melding of art and myth, ancestry and nostalgia, food and prayer, glamour, frivolity, and time. A native of Santa Fe, she has many artistic talents as a poet, hand fashioned bookmaker, fiction writer, Chanteuse, and film maker. In her uniquely creative voice, she draws on her Kiowa and Apache heritage to create compelling stories that transcend designation.
Her debut poetry collection, Silver Box, can be found here and on my Staff Picks shelf at City Lights Bookstore (Sylva, NC). 
Natachee's Books on the Bed:
The Ancient Child by N. Scott Momaday
Martin & Meditations on the South Valley by Jimmy Santiago Baca
Historic Cookery: Authentic New Mexican Food by Fabiola de Baca Gilbert
Hazards of Grace by Gary Worth Moody
Earth Keeper: Reflections on the American Land by N. Scott Momaday
A Book of Days by Patti Smith
Matt's gifts for Natachee:
The Animals of My Earth School by Mildred Kiconco Barya
Moonrise Over New Jessup by Jamila Minnicks
 

This week we visit Mildred Barya in Asheville, NC. Mildred is a native of Kabale, Uganda and the author of four books of poetry: The Animals of My Earth School, Men Love Chocolates But They Don't Say, The Price of Memory: After the Tsunami, and Give Me Room to Move My Feet. She is currently Associate Professor of Creative Writing & World Literature at the University of North Carolina - Asheville.  For more on Mildred's life and work: mildredbarya.com Mildred's Books on the Bed:  The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy The Book of Chameleons by Jose Eduardo Agualusa The Tarot Companion by Liz Dean Artful by Ali Smith Drinking from the River of Light by Mark Nepo Still I Rise (Poem) by Maya Angelou Matt's Gifts for Mildred: The Earth Keeper by N. Scott Momaday We Are Each Other's Harvest by Natalie Baszile   Episode timeline: 0:00 - 5:15 — Intro 5:16 - 43:15 — Gifts for Mildred and stories of Mildred's life 43:16 - 1:32:11 — Mildred's Books on the Bed    

This week we visit Jessie van Eerden in Roanoke, VA. Jessie is a native of Preston County, WV and the author of novels "Glorybound", "My Radio Radio", and 'Call It Horses", and portrait essay collection "The Long Weeping". Her new essay collection "Yoke & Feather" is out now, so go forth and read!  Jessie has taught for over twenty years in college classrooms and adult literacy programs, and she directed the low-residency MFA writing program of West Virginia Wesleyan College for seven years. She is Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Hollins University. For more on Jessie: jessievaneerden.com Jessie's Books on the Bed: The Murmuring Deep by Avivah Gottlied Zornberg Barrabas by Par Lagerkvist Houskeeping by Marilynne Robinson The Long Loneliness by Dorothy Day Deepstep Come Shining by C.D. Wright Rose by Li-Young Lee Matt's gifts for Jessie: Fire Sermon and A Life by Wright Morris   Episode timeline: 0:00 - 6:47 — Intro 6:48 - 52:35 — Gifts for Jessie, discussing Jessie's life and work 52:36 - 1:33:09 — Jessie's Books on the Bed    

CHARLES BAXTER is the author of the novels "The Feast of Love" (nominated for the National Book Award), "First Light", "Saul and Patsy", "Shadow Play", "The Soul Thief", and "The Sun Collective", and the story collections "Believers", "Gryphon", "Harmony of the World", "A Relative Stranger", "There’s Something I Want You to Do", and "Through the Safety Net". His stories have appeared in several anthologies, including The Best American Short Stories, The Pushcart Prize Anthology, and The O. Henry Prize Story Anthology. He has won the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story. Baxter lives in Minneapolis. Charles Baxter | Penguin Random House Conversation location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Charles' Books on the Bed: "The Night of the Hunter" by Davis Grubb "The Master and Margarita" by Mikhail Bulgakov "If I Survive You" by Jonathan Escoffery  "The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter" "So Long, See You Tomorrow" by William Maxwell "The Widow's Children" by Paula Fox Matt's gifts for Charles: "The Librarianist" by Patrick deWitt "The Mountains Have Come Closer" by Jim Wayne Miller   Episode timeline: 0:00 - 4:05 — Intro 4:06 - 31:47 — GIfts for Charles, Backstory to "The Soul Thief", and discussing Charles' new book "Blood Test" 31:48 - 1:24:51 — Charles' Books on the Bed

Jim Minick is the author or editor of eight books, including Without Warning: The Tornado of Udall, Kansas (nonfiction), “The Intimacy of Spoons” (poetry), Fire Is Your Water, (novel), and The Blueberry Years: A Memoir of Farm and Family. Minick’s work has appeared in many publications including The New York Times, Poets & Writers, Oxford American, Orion, Shenandoah, The Sun, Conversations with Wendell Berry, Appalachian Journal, Wind, and The Sun. He serves as co-editor of Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel. Minick’s honors include the Jean Ritchie Fellowship in Appalachian Writing and the Fred Chappell Fellowship at UNC-Greensboro. Minick has also won awards from the Southern Independent Booksellers Association, Southern Environmental Law Center, The Virginia College Bookstore Association, Appalachian Writers Association, Radford University, and elsewhere. His poem “I Dream a Bean” was picked by Claudia Emerson for permanent display at the Tysons Corner/Metrorail Station. He’s garnered grants from the Virginia Commission for the Arts, the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, Augusta University, Georgia Humanities Council, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. To learn more about Jim:  jim-minick.com Interview Location: Smyth County, Virginia Jim’s Books on the Bed: The Meadow by James Galvin I Am One of You Forever by Fred Chappell Turn Me Loose: The Unghosting of Medgar Evers by Frank X Walker The Mountains Have Come Closer by Jim Wayne Miller Harper Single Volume American Literature, Third Edition Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier Matt’s gifts for Jim: The Song of Everything by Glenis Redmond The Good Lord Bird by James McBride Refuge by Terry Tempest Williams Jim's Bedside Books: Our Southern Birds by Emma Bell Miles The French Broad by Wilma Dykeman Waking by Ron Rash Divine Right’s Trip: A Novel of the Counterculture by Gurney Norman The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture by Wendell Berry Suttree by Cormac McCarthy The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje Episode timeline: 0:00 - 6:45 — Introduction 6:46 - 41:10 Matt's gifts for Jim and Jim's story 41:11 - 1:55:05 — Jim's Books on the Bed  

Glenis Redmond is the First Poet Laureate of Greenville, South Carolina. She is a Kennedy Center Teaching Artist, and a Cave Canem alumni. She has authored six books of poetry: Backbone (Underground Epics, 2000), Under the Sun (Main Street Rag, 2002), and What My Hand Say (Press 53, 2016), Listening Skin (Four Way Books), Three Harriets & Others (Finishing Line Press), and Praise Songs for Dave the Potter, Art by Jonathan Green, and Poetry by Glenis Redmond (University of Georgia Press).  Glenis was born on Shaw AFB in Sumter, South Carolina. She presently resides in Greenville. She was the founder of the Greenville Poetry Slam in the early 90’s. She received her MFA in Poetry from Warren Wilson College while touring full-time as a poet and mother-of-twins, Amber, and Celeste Sherer. She is now a Gaga to three grandchildren Julian and Paisley and newborn, Quinn. Glenis has spent almost three decades touring the country as a poet and teaching artist. Since 2014, she has served as the mentor poet for the National Student Poets Program through Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. In the past she has prepared these exceptional youth poets to read at the Library of Congress, the Department of Education, and for First Lady Michelle Obama at The White House. For more about Glenis: glenisredmond.com Interview location: Greenville, South Carolina Glenis' Books on the Bed: Generations: A Memoir by Lucille Clifton The Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton 1965-2010 Gullah Spirit and Gullah Images by Jonathan Green Kindred by Octavia Butler Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston In Search of Color Everywhere by E. Ethelbert Miller (Editor) & Terrance Cummings (Illustrator) June Jordan's Poetry for the People Matt's gifts for Glenis: Call It Horses by Jessie van Eerden  Searching for Dr. Harris by Margaret Humphreys   Episode timeline:  0:00-4:52 — Intro 4:53-58:19 - Glenis' story 58:20-1:58:28 - Glenis' Books on the Bed