MADELINE HOWARD: The novel is broken up by cultural reports that Avery is working on for her media studies program. How did you conceive this structure?
ANIKA JADE LEVY: I was taking an online seminar with Sheila Heti. She gave us a prompt: “Write the scene before the first scene.” Using that prompt, I wrote the first report, which is the first page of the book. That’s the only page that hasn’t been edited. It’s exactly as I wrote it, and it demonstrates Avery’s artistic practice. Also, I wanted to borrow the grammar of social media, internet fragmentation, loops, and aphorisms, then use that to talk about faith, spectacle, and delusion.
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