And Then Somebody Handed Me a Story: Gary Indiana, Unlocked
This week, we’ve unlocked Gary Indiana’s Art of Fiction from the archive.
In February 2002, Gary Indiana found himself in his New York apartment, surrounded by a vast collection of books that seemed to grow weekly. The Paris Review recently unlocked an interview with Indiana from their archives, which was selected by Natalie Shapero for their Fall issue. Haslett, who wrote the introduction to the interview, mentioned the impressive book collection in Indiana's apartment.
Three years after Indiana's passing in 2024, the extensive book collection was boxed up and sent to a library site in Altadena, California. Unfortunately, it was destroyed in its entirety by the Eaton Fire upon arrival.
The interview with Indiana delved into his on-screen performances, such as screaming in a bathrobe in Valie Export's The Practice of Love, and his role in Christoph Schlingensief's Terror. The conversation then shifted to Indiana's experiences as an art critic for the Village Voice, his time as an art critic, and his transition to becoming a novelist. Indiana shared his thoughts on trauma, trust, survival, nostalgia, and the distinction between attitude and action.
Indiana explained that while writing about films, architecture, and books was a means to get outside his own head, he eventually wanted to write a novel. He fell in love with a young man who was an artist and a junkie but struggled to understand their relationship. Clemente once told Indiana that during love, the economy goes out the window, and Indiana experienced this in his relationship with the young man. The novel, Horse Crazy, captures this period of his life quite accurately.
Written by urgent.news from The Paris Review's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
