In a thoughtful, wide-ranging email interview with Edward Mullany at Neon Pajamas, Mullany reflects on the long arc of his work—from the uncanny trilogy he published with Publishing Genius between 2011 and 2015 to his newest book, Whiskey for the Holy Ghost, his first collection in ten years.
Discussing the pared-down structure of the new book, Mullany describes his approach to form with characteristic clarity: “Their brevity is merely the natural end of their expression. Meaning, the length of each piece is determined by the piece’s necessity.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Mullany reflects on how this fourth book sits alongside his earlier work, noting a tonal shift away from the existential panic of the trilogy:
“It isn’t as foreboding as those first three books, and is even in some instances happy. It is also perhaps more ordinary, in terms of what it is ‘about.’ There is a category of art to which I think I’m trying to attain, wherein much of the ‘drama’ that an audience might expect to discover is extinguished by a kind of nothingness that is nevertheless edifying.”
The conversation also ranges across Mullany’s visual art practice, his literary touchstones, and the quiet disciplines that keep him returning to the page.
One thing I know about Edward from all these years of friendship is that he’s always got a lot of projects underway. When Benjamin asked if he had any works in progress, Edward detailed a heavy and cool-sounding book:
Yes, I’ve been trying for the last five years to write a non-fiction, diaristic book that is difficult to describe. I would say that, stylistically, it is inspired by works like 300 Arguments, by Sarah Manguso, The Book of Disquiet, by Fernando Pessoa, LIVEBLOG by Megan Boyle, and Pascal’s Pensées. It began as an attempt to write a book about ‘Our Lady,’ which is a Catholic sobriquet for the Blessed Virgin Mary, and evolved into something else, something broader and more disparate, though not without that theological origin. I still want to write that same book, and am in the process of figuring out how.
And Edward shared a picture of his desk:
