Contributor Spotlight: Liran Golod
Liran Golod’s novel excerpt “Earthwork” is part of Issue 76 of Bellingham Review‘s Israeli international folio. She was also our International Consultant. Subscribe or purchase a single issue through our Submittable page here.
What would you like to share with our readers about the work you contributed to the Bellingham Review?
The piece is the first chapter from my novel, Earthwork. I grew up in a rural village near the Lebanese border with Israel, and my writing is a reflection of the strange stories that happen in a pastoral war zone.
Which non-writing aspect(s) of your life most influences your writing?
I don’t believe there is such a thing as a “non-writing aspect.” Everything influences me and relates to my writing. I can say, however, that writing for me is an alternative to therapy—instead of going to a therapist and telling him my story, I choose to write and tell my story as fiction. Also, living in Israel, for me, is a very intense experience, and it creates a hyper-sensitive inner world.
What writing advice has stayed with you?
It’s not exactly advice, but it stayed with me nonetheless: Gustav Flaubert said, “Madam Bovary—C’est moi,” and I keep finding out that, indeed, all my characters—men, women, children, even animals—are, at their very essence, me.
What is your favorite book (or essay, poem, short story)? Favorite writer(s)?
“Perspective” by Wislawa Szymborska, translated from Polish by Stanislaw Baranczak and Clare Cavanagh; “Rain” by Jack Gilbert; and Moscow-Petushki by Venedict Yerofeyev.
What are you reading right now?
The Nix by Nathan Hill. He is incredibly talented.
What project(s) are you working on now, or next?
My next novel, Tiger 3, will be published next year. I just finished a new novel, called Sunnyside, after my beloved neighborhood in Queens, where I lived for 7 years.
Anything else our readers might want to know about you?
I’m the Artistic Director of the Jerusalem International Writers Festival: http://mishkenot.org.il/writersfestival2018/en/
Where can our readers connect with you online?
https://www.facebook.com/liran.golod
LIRAN GOLOD was born in northern Israel, near the Lebanese border. Her debut novel Earthwork was published in 2014 to critical acclaim. In recent years she has lived in New York, and is currently the artistic director of Jerusalem International Writers Festival. Her next novel, Tiger 3, is forthcoming.
Featured Image: “Border Fence. Imperial Sand Dunes, California. 2009” by Eric White