Seven Questions with Nina LaCour + Class Tomorrow
“Everything hurts” opens Amanda Gorman’s ‘Hymn for the Hurting.’ Everything hurts.
I am thinking so much about how we take care of each other. Because our lives depend on it.
One tiny thing I can offer is a Sunday afternoon cooking together in our kitchens, places where we are hopefully safe, comfortable, and capable of connecting with each other + restoring ourselves. All of the proceeds from my class tomorrow will be going to Everytown for Gun Safety. My classes are always $40. If you’d like to attend class + just have an afternoon of community but the price is out of reach, just respond to this newsletter and let me know and I’ll add you to the list, no questions asked. If you’d like to come to class and give more, just donate directly to Everytown (and for additional ways to support families in Uvalde, Texas, see here). Everyone is welcome in my kitchen. To sign up for tomorrow’s class, head here.
The wonderful writer Nina LaCour offered thoughtful answers to the Seven Questions this week.
Nina LaCour is the Michael L. Printz award-winning and nationally bestselling author of six young adult novels, including Watch Over Me and We Are Okay; the children's book Mama and Mommy and Me in the Middle; and Yerba Buena, a novel for adults. She's on faculty at Hamline University's MFA in writing for Children and Young Adults program, and teaches an online class of her own called The Slow Novel Lab. A former indie bookseller and high school English teacher, she lives with her family in San Francisco.
Nina’s new book, Yerba Buena, will be out in just a few days. I got to read an early copy and ready it in a single day. It’s so good. You can pre-order a personalized copy from Green Apple Books right here!
SEVEN QUESTIONS
What was your favorite thing to eat growing up? Did you request something special for your birthday?
It's a tie! First, my dad's gumbo: the product of a luxurious, slow-paced day of cooking. His gumbo is legendary among my family and our friends so it felt like he was doing magic in the tiny apartment kitchen of my youth. And then there's my mom's cheese soufflé. I remember peering through the oven glass to see it rise and then rushing to the table to eat it while it was still hot. They were both on the birthday request rotation, along with an eggplant-and-polenta dish my dad invented and my mom's apple pie.
When was the last time someone surprised you with a random act of kindness? And/or when was the last time you surprised someone with one?
My favorite neighborhood cafe, Pinhole Coffee in San Francisco, often has a long line around the corner. One of the baristas will go outside and take orders so that your drinks are ready when it's your turn to pay inside. It's all very efficient. So I was waiting in the line with my dog, Luka, who is still a puppy and very excitable, and the woman behind me was so sweet and attentive with Luka--just very kind. When it was my turn to pay I asked the cashier if I could also pay for the woman's order and they said sure. It was so fun! Like paying the toll for the person in the car behind you.
What’s the most meaningful gift you’ve ever received? And/or the most meaningful one you’ve given?
I've been the fortunate recipient of many meaningful gifts, but the one that comes to mind is a book. My wife and I met in a Virginia Woolf class in college, and when we got married our professor gave us a second edition of Orlando as our wedding gift. Such a treasure!
What do you see when you close your eyes and picture your “happy place”?
The view from a kayak on Northern California's Russian River. My wife and daughter and best friend are there, too, each of us in our own boats, and my daughter is so proud of her rowing. Afterward, we pick blackberries from tangled vines and smell the wild roses that line the roads and go back to our favorite Airbnb to grill something and drink ice cold rosé while looking out over the river.
What’s the most recent finish line you crossed?
Launching my novel, Yerba Buena. It's been almost two decades since I first imagined these characters and there were many times over the years when I thought that I might never actually write the whole book. But I did, and now I have the finished copies and they are so beautiful--and they even have a gorgeous blurb from you on the back! All that's left are some events, but the book is already very much out in the world and I feel tremendously satisfied.
If you were in charge of a large sum of money for your community, how would you distribute it?
There are so many complicated needs in my community, but the most fundamental and the simplest is food security. I'd give a ton of the money to the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank. And then there's a smaller local organization that I absolutely love called the Children's Book Project that strives to get high-quality books into economically disadvantaged children's hands. Educators from all over San Francisco and the surrounding regions go there to get free books for the kids in their areas. They can take as many as they want to and it's totally free. For some children, the books they receive through the organization are their first ever book.
Who is someone you’d like to write a thank-you note to? What would you say?
I'm sitting in my office right now and on the wall in front of my desk are a bunch of photographs of my grandparents when they were young; I'm using them as references and inspiration for the novel I'm currently working on. I would love the chance to write to them and let them know how much I miss them, and to thank them for how much they've shaped who I am and what I love and pay attention to. My grandfather, especially. He died ten years ago and I still think of him every single day. He was the most loving, humble, jovial guy. As I picture him right now, he's lifting the top of a steaming pot of grits to give them a taste. I'd thank him for all those delicious breakfasts, too.
Thank you so much to Nina for answering the questions this week. I hope to see some of you tomorrow afternoon. Please take good, sweet care of yourself and the people around you. Let them take care of you, too.
With love, Julia
I just want to comment on random acts of kindness really quickly. I am a school librarian and host an after school cooking club.
Yesterday was the last meeting, so we held a potluck. These kids went ABOVE and beyond. Cookies, candy, cupcakes, yogurt parfaits, so much food.
One child asked her grandfather to make homemade pierogis and dropped them off, still warm. One child brought homemade lumpia.
But one student brought homemade smoked sausage, pickles, and a massive container of Polish cabbage salad. I started to plate it up to pass out to the kids, and he went, “no no, my mom says that’s for you, I know it’s your favorite.” And it IS, but his family didn’t need to do that! I was so touched.