November 2006

Writing can be hard work, even when you’re as accomplished at it as Mary Gaitskill is. “Everything about it is challenging to me,” admits Gaitskill, a 1998 PEN/Faulkner Award nominee and 2002 Guggenheim fellow whose most recent novel Veronica (2005) was nominated for a National Book Award and named one of the top 10 books of 2005 by The New York Times. “It varies from piece to piece . . . sometimes it’s the characterizations, sometimes the structuring of the plot or describing the way things look. But really, I don’t find any of it easy.”

Which is precisely where the nurturing atmosphere of The MacDowell Colony comes in. For Gaitskill, who has worked at the Colony twice before, coming to MacDowell means she can immerse herself in the supportiveness and tranquility of her surroundings and really get down to work. “There’s something about the spirit of the place that is very benevolent and helpful,” she explains. “It’s a beautiful, soft, calm environment. I work really well there.”

Gaitskill’s subject matter often focuses on female characters struggling with inner conflicts surrounding relationships, sexuality, and identity. In addition to two books of short stories (Bad Behavior and Because They Wanted To) and an additional novel (Two Girls, Fat and Thin), Gaitskill has written numerous essays and stories that have appeared in such publications as The New Yorker, Harper’s Magazine, Esquire, and Best American Short Stories (1993). Her first book, Bad Behavior (1988), included the short story Secretary, which became the basis for the 2002 film of the same name starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and James Spader.

In terms of coming up with ideas for her work, Gaitskill says she gets them from all kinds of places. “It could be something I’ve seen, something someone’s told me, or an image in my head.” Gaitskill claims the focus of her current work-in-progress—a short story collection about relationships between adults and children—is probably directly tied to her age. “When you reach 50, you begin to become aware that you’ve passed half of your life,” she explains. “You begin to think about the next generation.” With this new collection, Gaitskill has pushed into new territory. “These stories are systematically and thematically different from my other stories,” she says.

With eight stories for the book already written, Gaitskill plans to write three to five more during her five-week residency at MacDowell — a goal that, based on previous experience, she considers attainable. “At the Colony, I get about twice as much work done as I would at home,” she says. “I’m able to more quickly and consistently enter the deep, quiet, mental state required for writing well.”

Gaitskill will share her work with the public by offering a reading from Veronica and taking questions from the audience at the third installment of the fifth season of MacDowell Downtown on Friday, November 3rd.