The Lounge Chair Interview: 10 Questions with Timothy Liu

By Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé

Let’s get down to brass tacks. Why do you write?

I like moving words around on the page/screen to see what kinds of energies can get released.

Tell us about your most recent book or writing project. What were you trying to say or achieve with it?

I’m making final corrections on my first hybrid novel, KINGDOM COME. I’ve also started my second hybrid novel called PARAMOUR. I am interested in the kinds of energies that can get released through initial drafts of 70,000 to 100,000 words, a domain vastly different from the lyric poems I continue to write.

Describe your writing aesthetic.

Frank O’Hara said, “Go on your nerve.” That sounds about right.