The Write Stuff is a series of interview profiles conducted by Litseen, where authors give exclusive readings from their work.
Benjamin Hollander was born in Haifa, Israel and as a boy immigrated to New York City. He presently lives on the west coast of North America. His books include:
In the House Un-American (Clockroot Books/Interlink Publishing, Spring, 2013);
Memoir American (Punctum Books, Spring 2013);
Vigilance (Beyond Baroque Books, 2005);
Rituals of Truce and the Other Israeli, (Parrhesia Press, 2004);
The Book of Who Are Was (Sun & Moon Press, 1997);
How to Read, Too (Leech Books, 1992); and, as editor,
Translating Tradition: Paul Celan in France (ACTS, 1988). A review of
In The House Un-American can be found
in The LA Review of Books, and an excerpt
in The Brooklyn Rail.
When people ask what do you do, you tell them...?
I tell them I teach writing and literature. After that, it depends who is asking. If they look like they could be remotely interested in poetry, I tell them I write poetry, although I never claim what Laura Riding called the poet-role (i.e. "I am a poet"), in the same way I would never claim Rimbaud's Je est un autre ("I am the other").