Aris Janigian: Author / Yogi / Book Collector / Potluck Hoster

@arisjanigian
arisjanigian.com  

The scene:
We are sitting in the sun on a chilly Spring day just outside Aris’ living space, which is attached to his private library of 1 billion books (actually 5,000 ish). Aris begins the interview a bit withdrawn, perhaps shy, perhaps melancholic - like any truly great writer is expected to be - but warms up throughout and by the end is truly lively. It has taken me a moment to return to editing and releasing interviews. I saw Aris in yoga the other day and we shared that we had such fond memories of what a great interview it was, it is. Join us as we explore the human condition and how it is captured with words.

Highlights:

• Bestselling author of “Waiting for Lipchitz at Chateau Marmont”
• Moved to Fresno from LA eight years ago
• Began writing in the 5th grade. First book: “The Adventures of Hallelujah Harry”
• What makes a “gifted” writer?
• Two novels by the age of 25
• Writing because you have to write...you have something to say
• Began writing regularly his junior year of college, as a medicine
• Using writing to harness a self-destructive energy
• Why publish? > ego, being noticed, being seen, vanity, loving people
• Wanting others to feel the richness of their internal life
• Helping others find themselves
• Connection is the root of many creative endeavors
• Suffering is a character trait that serves writers well
• Patience/a long view is important when writing one book over many years
• Maturing out of immediate gratification
• Tragic humor and satire
• Embracing one’s own madness, coupled with self-compassion
• “Essentially we’re scripting our own lives continuously”
• No one can define great art, it has a transcendent quality
• Relying on the judgement of others to measure you
• Trusting informed readers for feedback
• We would be nothing without the love of other people
• Community makes you feel at home in the world
• Observing others as they journey through the world
• Conflict > Friction > Fire > Life, warmth, light…
• Writing “aggressive”, “racist”, “sexist” books
• Uncomfortability creates an opportunity to elevate consciousness
• The world is not static, we must constantly revise our approach
• “One should be happy to be confronted with a genuinely authentic new perspective”
• Yearning to be confronted by someone with your own flaw or bias
• We identify too much with our own thoughts and opinions
• Trained as a scientist - PhD in Research Psychology, specifically Social Cognition
• Taught college psych for 23 years
• Research him on Google scholar for his papers on human studies
• Advice to younger self: “Get help sooner.” (meds, therapy, yoga/meditation)
• 19 year yogi
• Play more
• Grieving when you can’t write
• Longest writing “slump”: current, 1 1/2 years…
• Novel writing comes from a different place, it’s like a puzzle

A taste:

• “We view our selves as western expansion does, an American cultural egotism that creates dynamism.”
• “Most of our rhetoric, our language, is oriented towards youth.”
• “The novelist mind requires that you see everything when you write one sentence.”

Favorite saying:
(He can’t remember. Ask his friends for the notes they take of the funny things he says.)