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Mixtape

Sigrid Nunez

The Friend

Sigrid Nunez reads "The Friend" at the 2018 National Book Awards
Sigrid Nunez

Consider an animal you know. Do they have yearnings? Regret? Eureka moments?

Artist’s Note

“I was lucky enough as a child to have had a mother and teachers who taught me that whatever happened in life, however bad things might get, I could always escape by reading a book. I was lucky enough to keep on meeting them – people who believed that reading and writing were the best things a person could do with her life. And to learn what Alan Bennett was getting at when he said that ‘for a writer, nothing is ever quite as bad as it is for other people because, however dreadful, it may be of use.’  

“I became a writer not because I was seeking community but rather because I thought it was something I could do alone and hidden in the privacy of my own room. How lucky to have discovered that writing books made the miraculous possible – to be removed from the world, and to be a part of the world at the same time.”

About the Artist 

Sigrid Nunez, a member of the Ƶ, is a novelist.

Sigrid Nunez

Independent
Ƶ Member

Commission on the Arts

The Commission - drawing on the expertise of its members who are artists, scholars, activists, and leaders, as well as the input of people across the country who participated in listening sessions - dedicated itself to recognizing and supporting the essential role of the arts and artists in American life.