Twice a month, The Rumpus brings your favorite writers directly to your IRL mailbox via our Letters in the Mail program.
July 15 LITM: Matt Lee
Matt Lee is the author of Crisis Actor. He has also written and produced work for the stage, including an adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. He is a cofounder and editor of the magazine Ligeia. Lee lives in Maryland with his wife and son.
The Rumpus: What book(s) made you a reader? Do you have any recent favorites you’d like to share?
Matt Lee: I encountered If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino as a teenager, and it completely changed my perceptions of what books can do and be and how they operate and interact with readers. That was a turning point of taking my reading more seriously. As for recent favorites from this year, I recommend The Apple in the Dark by Clarice Lispector, Die Closer to Me by David Kuhnlein, and The Ogre by Michel Tournier.
Rumpus: How did you know you wanted to be a writer?
Lee: Being painfully shy as a boy and discovering an outlet in writing, which gave me complete freedom to feed my imagination and express myself independent of anyone else.
Rumpus: What’s a piece of good advice or insight you received in a letter or note?
Lee: Never disregard how much there is to celebrate about life.
Rumpus: Tell us about your most recent book? How do you hope it resonates with readers?
Lee: My debut memoir, The Backwards Hand, explores the relationship between disability and monstrosity. I weave my own story growing up disabled with that of others, creating a collage-like tapestry of historical anecdotes, with a particular focus on horror films and their often disabled-coded villains. I hope it forces readers to confront their attitudes, perceptions, and prejudices surrounding disability and the human body.
Rumpus: What is your best/worst/most interesting story that involves the mail/post office/mailbox?
Lee: When I was learning to drive, I once crashed into a post-mounted mailbox while driving through some anonymous suburban neighborhood. Luckily, the homeowners had a sense of humor and let me off without calling the cops (or my mother).
Rumpus: Is there a favorite Rumpus piece you’d like to recommend?
Lee: I love this essay that was part of a wonderful series on disability in education: “Outside(r)” by Aisha Ashraf.
