'Nourishing rejuvenation for the body'

 

“When language is treated beautifully and interestingly, it can feel good for the body: It's nourishing; it's rejuvenating.” – Aimee Bender

 

Born in California on June 28, 1969 Bender studied creative writing then took on simultaneous careers as a writer and teacher.  She teaches creative writing at USC and has produced half-a-dozen novels and numerous short stories.  Her most recent novel is The Butterfly Lampshade.  

 

She enjoys writing, she said, because “The human being's ability to make a metaphor to describe a human experience is just really cool.  I love to write about people in their 20s. It's such a fraught and exciting and kind of horrible time.”  

 

Bender is the winner of two Pushcart Prizes and her novel An Invisible Sign of My Own was named a Los Angeles Times “Pick of the Year.”  Her collection of short stories, The Girl in the Flammable Skirt, spent several months on both the New York Times and Los Angeles Times bestseller lists.

 

While she’s had success with both novels and short stories, she prefers the latter.  “Novels are so much unrulier and stressful to write. A short story can last two pages and then it's over, and that's kind of a relief.  I really like balancing the two.”