“Unveiling Grief: Eiren Caffall Reveals the Hidden Wisdom in ‘The Mourner’s Bestiary'”
AE: That was a conversation I think you had with one of the book events you did. Where you talked extensively about how difficult it was to do the work until you had that social safety net. And how many people do not have that social safety net.
EC: I’m not saying I wasn’t making good work when I was a single mom.
AE: You were! Absolutely you were.
EC: I made a record album. I was publishing essays. I was performing live. I was still hustling as an artist, even while I was in a position of deep vulnerability, so I never lost sight of that as part of my identity. I was raised by artists. I lived in a community of artists here in Chicago—very workaday about being artists until they die, even if they’re never famous, working class art making. There are very few places in this country where you can still afford to do that. When I landed here, and for most of my career, this was a place where you could have a day job as a librarian and still make rock and roll in the evenings, the Chicago way. I didn’t feel less than because I was making my living writing ad copy or textbooks. That kind of community gives you permission, recognizes your lifelong identity and how it changes depending on your age and your circumstance. Can you not write right now because your mother has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and you’re at the hospital every day? You deserve a community that says, “You’re still a writer, go, take care of your mother, we’re here when you get back.”
