Lynne Tillman organized her collection of essays What Would Lynne Tillman Do? (Red Lemonade) by alphabet: she felt this was the most neutral, least hierarchical way to go about things. She doesn’t have one way of writing or one common subject: “A” is for Andy Warhol, “B” for Jane and Paul Bowles. The destruction of context and deformation of category is crucial to what Tillman does. She wishes to open doors, break down barriers, and make us aware of how thoughts are formed. She says a writer shouldn’t be ahead of one’s time but “of” one’s time, as in, sensitive to life as it’s lived around you.
Photo by Rob LaFond