I quickly learned that as a fiction writer, you need the sort of details a historian or a biographer would find extraneous or useful to provide context via a footnote. Alexander Chee biographercontextdetail Change image and share on social
My singing voice had rescued me from the scene I was in at school - I was an unpopular, bookish kid who had an indeterminate ethnic background. I became fascinated with women sopranos because they had a future that I didn't as a singer. Alexander Chee backgroundbookishethnic share on social
The day in 2011 that I went to the office of the city clerk in lower Manhattan with my partner Dustin to register for our domestic partnership was coincidentally also the first day same-sex partners were allowed to register for marriage in the state of New York. Alexander Chee allowcityclerk share on social
As of 2013, according to the World Health Organization, 35 million people were estimated to be living with HIV or AIDS globally, and 39 million have died from the disease. The epidemic of denial won, and now everyone knows there is money in the making of drugs for AIDS. Alexander Chee aiddenialdie share on social
It took me a while to get back to 'The Queen of the Night.' I was angry with it as an idea because I felt like it had sort of ruined my life by taking so much attention away from 'Edinburgh.' So it essentially languished in a drawer until 2004, when I pulled it out, dusted it off, and thought, 'Oh, I actually really like this idea.' Alexander Chee angryattentionback share on social
I sat down to try to write 'Edinburgh,' an autobiographical novel, and that took five years to write and two years to sell. Alexander Chee autobiographicaledinburghsell Change image and share on social
By the 1880s, English translations of both the French and the Russian editions were available, and Americans began to read 'War and Peace.' Alexander Chee 1880samericanbegin Change image and share on social
The Narrator of 'A Sport and a Pastime' is an American photographer living in a borrowed house in what he calls 'the real France,' Autun, a small town where he hopes to take some career-changing photographs in the spirit of Atget. Alexander Chee americanatgetautun share on social
When I left the state of Maine for college, I met my first really rich friends, and I discovered summer could be a verb. Alexander Chee collegediscoverfriend Change image and share on social
Paul Lisicky, in his new memoir, 'The Narrow Door,' describes losing his old friend, the novelist Denise Gess, and his husband, the acclaimed poet and memoirist Mark Doty, within a year of each other: Gess to cancer, at the age of 57, and Doty to another man. Alexander Chee acclaimagecancer share on social