Brenda Shaughnessy and Craig Morgan Teicher:
Brenda Shaughnessy is the author of Our Andromeda and So Much Synth. Craig Morgan Teicher is the author of Ambivalence and Other Conundrums and The Trembling Answers. The poets have two children together named Cal and Simone. Their son Cal has cerebral palsy. This is one of the main subjects of Teicher’s most recent poetry collection The Trembling Answers. “Cal had a radically nontypical infancy, and in our impassioned new role as parents we learned how to be tougher than we ever thought possible, because our son needed us to be,” according to Brenda Shaughnessy. “We were thrust into a complex world of therapies, specialists, and medicines, but it was the uncertainty that would keep us up at night. The only thing we knew for sure about Cal was that we were utterly crazy about him. We adore him. He’s our hero.”
Lang Leav and Michael Faudet: They are both poets who write relatively short yet emotionally powerful poems about the meaning of love and heartbreak. “He was writing, I was writing, we had a similar aesthetic to our work, so it was just right. I knew that I’d found my creative soulmate,” says Lang Leav. They are both talented at depicting emotions in relation to spirituality. I love Lang Leav. I personally like her better than Rupi Kaur. Lang Leav is the author of Lullabies and Love & Misadventures, to which is dedicated to Michael. Additionally, Leav has a novel being released at the end of this month called Sad Girls. Michael Faudet is the author of Dirty Pretty Things and Bitter Sweet Love.
Zadie Smith and Nick Laird: Zadie Smith is the author of several critically acclaimed novels including Swing Time, The Embassy of Cambodia, and On Beauty. In addition, she has a short story collection called Martha and Hanwell. Nick Laird is the author of the poetry collections Go Giants, On Purpose, and To a Fault. Laird is also the author of the novels Utterly Monkey and Glover’s Mistake. His new novel Modern Gods will be released June 27th, 2017.
Paul Auster and Siri Hustvedt: Paul Auster is the author of the novels The Book of Illusions, Moon Palace, The Invention of Solitude, and others. Siri Hustvedt is the author of the novels The Blazing World, What I Loved, and a memoir The Shaking Woman Or A History of My Nerves. They have a daughter together named Sophie.
Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman: Michael Chabon is the author of Wonder Boys and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. His most recent novel is Moonglow. Ayelet Waldman is the author of the novels Love and Treasure, Red Hook Road, and Daughter’s Keeper. Waldman’s most recent book is her memoir A Really Good Day: How Microdosing Made a Mega Difference in My Mood, My Marriage, and My Life. The couple has four children named Ezekiel, Sophie, Ida, and Abraham.
