I can’t overstate how much I value attachment to whatever it is that speaks through us while being creative.
I've been meaning to ask Miranda Schreiber
I’ve been meaning to ask you is an interview series where Kathryn Mockler invites people to answer questions about being human.
What is your first memory of existing?
One of my first memories is feeling extremely frustrated that all the furniture was made for adults — like, lacking coherence with all the tools and possessions around me because I couldn’t use them properly.
I try really hard to retain some sense of that feeling because I think people sometimes underestimate how annoying it can be to be a child.
What is your first memory of being creative (writing, art making, etc.)?
When I was three I would tell a story called the Lion Queen that went on for about forty-five minutes.
The only person who listened to it from beginning to end was my grandma, who the book is dedicated to, who was basically a genius of love.
What is the best or worst dream you ever had?
My favourite dreams return something lost that we have no chance of getting back while we are awake. This could be people or belongings. But I think it is often very specific emotions prompted by unrepeatable situations.
What do you cherish most about this world?
I think I value intellectual autonomy the most. I really cherish the ability to challenge perceptual manipulation by powerful actors through creation, which is one of the most chaotic, mysterious faculties I think people have.
I can’t overstate how much I value attachment to whatever it is that speaks through us while being creative.
What would you like to change about this world?
I find it scary that AI is discouraging creative thought, which is like a muscle you have to exercise.
If that atrophies I don’t think people will be very hard to control anymore. I really hope people do not outsource the generation of ideas to something owned by oligarchs because that is a really scary dependency.
What advice would you give to your younger self? Your younger self could be you at any age.
It’s not you; it’s capitalism.
I also think I would have found the concept of mansplaining very clarifying.
Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?
I would have said no ten years ago. But I can say with confidence that I literally have no idea anymore. There have been too many things I took as obviously true that turned out to be false.
If you could send your love to anyone, who would it be and why?
I would like to send my love to my childhood best friend Leanne, who has this stabilizing effect on everyone that I think reminds people of heaven. She just makes things stand still for people.
Miranda Schreiber is a Canadian writer and researcher. Her work has appeared in places like the Toronto Star, the Walrus, the Globe and Mail, BBC, and the National Post. She has been nominated for a digital publishing award by the National Media Foundation and was the recipient of the Solidarity and Pride Champion Award from the Ontario Federation of Labour. Iris and the Dead is her debut book.
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