Craig Willse on the difference between feeling powerless and helpless ‹ Literary Hub

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Today Craig Willse talks about his debut novel, providenceas well as writing family systems, grief, the book’s many rewrites, building tension, rewarding the reader with sex, the danger of projection, and more!

From the episode:

Craig Willse: I think the feeling I was trying to convey with this story was that there is a difference between feeling trapped and feeling trapped, but that feeling is real. Feeling powerless – that’s not the same as powerlessness, but it’s real. I think the mistake for Mark is not being able to see that difference.

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Craig Willse is a teacher and freelance editor based in Los Angeles. Craig is a 2021 Lambda Literary Fellow and has recently worked at HAD, Joyland, and Fence. His first novel, Providence, is out now from Union Square. He is also the author of The Value of Homelessness (University of Minnesota Press) and holds a PhD in sociology from the CUNY Graduate Center.