Casey Johnston will be reading at the Difficult to Name Reading Series on May 14.
I’ve been trying to get you to read at the series for a while. You’re sort of a “get.” I told some people you were reading and they were like, “Whoa, really? That's awesome.” Do you think of yourself that way or are you like, “I’m just a writer”?
I'm so flattered! I would have done this series at literally any time?? We talked about it very briefly after one event and then I never heard from you so I was like "oh..." but my self esteem was like, totally not affected and I'm 100% not mad at you at all and there's no way the piece I'm going to read will be about a character named Bryan Sortar dying in a specific violent and unexpected way.
Do I think I am I a "get"? I texted my best friends Gigi Hadid and FKA Twigs to get their opinions and haven't heard back, but idk, I'm just a person who sits at her computer literally all day long. I feel like I won't be a "get" until Who? Weekly is covering my wardrobe changes.
You studied physics, a subject I don't understand. I took human bio instead of physics in high school because I thought it would be easier, but that was difficult, too. Did you take human bio?
I took regular bio, and I didn't like it. Bio seemed to be a lot of memorizing stuff, and Latin words, I was not into it. Human bio seems extra to me, you're compounding something bad (bio) with something worse (people). A lot of respects to doctors for putting up with us.
You wrote a very funny piece for New Yorker’s Shouts & Murmurs called “A Guided Meditation for the Anxious Mind.” Do you practice meditation yourself?
Thank you, that is so nice! I've tried meditation, in part because my mom is, if you can imagine this, a hardcore meditator. I have a guided meditation app that I've used once or twice. It's difficult, I think, especially for anxious people. It's just impossible to clear your mind when you're like that (hence the piece), which I guess is why it's important to do. I'd say I haven't really given it a fair shake. But I also just prefer like, giving myself time to think and work through stuff without occupying myself with something, which is not the same thing. Huge fan of just staring out the window or at nothing while on public transportation, especially like a long Megabus or plane trip with a window seat when I cannot be bothered to get out my computer.
What can people expect for your reading?
Well now that you've put all this pressure on me, the world? They can expect the world. Laughter, tears, the full emotional range of the human experience. But seriously go easy on me, I've spoken maybe 50 words aloud today and most of them were to my cat.