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citylightsbooks · 4 years

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A Chat with Beth Lisick

Edie on the Green Screen is an irreverent love-letter to San Francisco, chronicling the story of a 90s "It girl" as she ages-in-place and confronts the Bay Area tech monoculture. The author, Beth Lisick, is also an actress, co-founder of the Porchlight Storytelling Series, and one of the sharpest, quick-witted people that we know. You can read more about Beth here. Edie on the Green Screen is her first novel.

On April 1st, 2020, City Lights planned to celebrate the publication at the bookstore. Given the “Shelter in Place” order by the city of San Francisco, staff retreated to their homes, and City Lights continued to work, remotely. Stacey Lewis, VP, Director of PR, Marketing & Sales, conducted a Twitter chat on April Fool’s Day with Beth reporting from her living room in Berkeley, CA. Here follows a transcript of that conversation.

City Lights: Beth!!! Where are you?

I'm in New York, kinda near Woodstock and Kingston.

What are you doing to stay sane?

I’m cooking a lot! And trying to go out on hikes. Hanging out with my husband and son and also my brother’s family.

For how long did you work on your novel?

This is embarrassing to say but I wrote the first words of it almost 10 years ago!

Are you in a writing group? Or do you share things with particular friends for feedback?

I’ve never been in a formal writing group but I have a few friends, writers and non-writers alike, that I will share things with.

Prior to working with the independent, Brooklyn-based 7.13 Books on Edie on the Green Screen, you’ve had books w/ Manic D Press: Monkey Girl & This Too Can Be Yours

Thank God for Jennifer Joseph and Manic D. I think today is Jen’s birthday!

Happy birthday Jen Joseph!! And Everybody Into the Pool & Helping Me Help Myself with Harper Collins.

My brief foray into mainstream publishing.

And Yokohama Threeway: And Other Small Shames pub’d by City Lights (hell YES!)

Ah! That felt niiiiiice.

What are some of the differences you noticed working with indie vs corporate presses?

A lot of it has to do with the publicity and marketing part. On mainstream presses I always felt like I had to convince them that I was worthwhile. Their budgets aren’t necessarily going to you anyway and I feel much more comfortable with my indie press relationships. More personal.

Can you talk about your publisher 7.13 Books and how you came to work with them?

My friend Alex Behr was published by 7.13 and she introduced me to Leland [Leland Cheuk, publisher of 7.13 Books]. He is from the Bay Area but lives in Brooklyn now. He understood my Bay Area vibe! He is committed to doing debuts, but since this was my debut novel, he squeezed me onto the roster.

For how long have you lived away from the Bay Area?

It will be eight years this summer! So long. But luckily I come back a lot for Porchlight and to see my friends and parents.

Your novel clearly pulls from your own experiences in the Bay. How did you recall the memories? Do you keep a journal?

I keep various notebooks and write notes in my phone. I also like to quiet my brain and sort of meditate memories or experiences into my consciousness. (clearly from Northern California)

I was thinking that. Did the physical distance from San Francisco give you freedom to write about it?

YES. Even more than I imagined. I had a lot more free time once I moved to New York because I didn’t know anyone. It was a nice way to get a different perspective. Being across the country.

Do you think it would have been harder constructing this story if you were still living here?

Yes. I had gotten myself into a place where I was so upset with the changes in the Bay Area that I was too crabby to write about it. The first drafts were very cynical and angry. It’s hard not to feel like it’s been taken over. I like to think that even though there are huge buildings and all that money and new people who don’t seem to care about the things I cared about, that those things will still surface.

I bet. I'm going to light some incense. Hope you don't mind.

Burn that sage, sister. By the way, I am using voice text because my Internet connection is kind of slow. Caveat for every typo or mistake!

I wish we could hear your voice.

My audiobook is almost done! It’s the first time I’ve ever been able to record my own audiobook so I’m really excited about it.

CL: Oh! I can't wait to hear that!!! San Francisco was, for many of us in the 80s & 90s, a place to continue “growing up,” as we could afford to do so. Edie, in the novel, is so relatable. What is it about her that makes her so stubborn to change?

Edie’s whole personality was shaped by bands and bars and art and a certain aesthetic that was prevalent in San Francisco in the 90s. When that disappears, she’s not quite sure what to do.

Sorry, I had to step away to wash my hands.

What song did you sing?

Rapper's Delight.

Hero!

No, you are my hero. And, you are truly bi-coastal, regularly coming back to SF to co-host the wonderful Porchlight Storytelling Series, and to see your family. What’s it like having deep roots on both coasts?

If I can’t be a true bisexual at least I can be bi-coastal. And I do love living in New York so I’m still glad that I moved. I like being so deeply from the Bay Area and knowing it so well. And I also love the anonymity of being in New York. No millions of old personal stories to trip you up or slow you down.

Or running into anyone you slept with. Speaking of the Porchlight, what have you learned about storytelling after so many years of organizing these events?

I think that's why I was able to write this book. I have learned so much from the way people tell stories at Porchlight. Not only structurally but as far as really paying attention to what feels authentic and what feels put on.

If you had a piece of advice to share with your younger self, what would it be?

Maybe to step back and listen even more. I was so energetic and enthusiastic about putting myself out there in my 20s but I learned so much once I shut up and chilled out a bit.

@Superprose1 asks: Curious ~ how does novel writing compare to memoir ?

It felt very liberating to me to write a novel after writing so much memoir. I didn’t have to worry about being accurate, I could just be truthful. I could try out different thoughts and feelings on another character without having to claim it as my own.

***

Speed round time!

Ready!

Write what comes to your mind when I say . . . Burrito

El Farolito

UC Santa Cruz [Both Beth and I are proud Slugs.]

Drum circle

“Law & Order” [Beth has appeared as an extra on the show]

Sitting in the jury box.

Hummus

Santa Cruz

Juice Cleanse

I’d totally do it.

Unknown knowns

Astral projection. I’m learning a lot about what a big hippie I am.

It's cause yer near Woodstock.

* * *

Pictures of you. I present: “Beth Lisick: This is Your Life”

OH GOD!!! Are there nudes?

Tell us what’s going on here.

I worked for @fruitguys for years as a banana mascot. I got to travel all over the country. This is me at the San Francisco Marathon.

That’s me and @captaindingbat [writer, actress, and author Tara Jepsen] doing our characters Carole and Mitzi. They only eat pancakes! This is a still from our web series Rods and Cones.

This is a still from a film I acted in by Kara Herold. Called 39 1/2. It shot for six years and I was 47 by the time it was done.

That’s me and Jan Richman when we went on the Richard Simmons fitness cruise! It was for a chapter in my book Helping Me Help Myself. I love Richard!!

Okay! You got me here! Where was this? Look how giant that headband is! And how did I get that amount of cleavage, which is huge for me.

This was at my gangster party many years ago. My roommate Marisa referred to your hairstyle as "the claw."

Wow. I remember that party now. I love seeing photos I've never seen before in outfits I haven't thought about in years. I must have been breastfeeding still.

Taken by Frazer Bradshaw at Sundance. It was his first feature film (and mine too) and it went to Sundance in 2008. It’s called Everything Strange and New. It’s really beautiful. We were backstage and there was popcorn on the floor so it seemed natural to be photographed with it.

* * *

I want to thank Beth Lisick—always my It Girl—for joining us!

Stacey! Thank you so much for doing this. I miss you and everyone at City Lights. Can’t wait to see you all real soon. Lots of love!

I’m going to leave you with a video of The Beth Lisick Ordeal, in their prime. Enjoy!

#BethLisick #CityLights #edie

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