Sheila Heti
Story Stream
A Conversation with Lauren Oyler April 04, 2024
The one time I met Lauren Oyler in person was in New York in the spring of 2018. I had been closely following her work as a critic and admired her intelligence and fearlessness. That exuberant night, she sat mostly quietly, with a look of anger, thro...
On Sheila Heti’s “Alphabetical Diaries” April 04, 2024
CY TWOMBLY, the American abstract expressionist, is best known for his graffiti-like paintings scrawled in large loops. He is less known for his photography, although it may reveal more of his perspective than his painting does. Cabbages, carnations,...
How to Be an Author and a Character February 15, 2024
It feels almost pro forma for any piece on Sheila Heti to start with some gesture toward understanding what “autofiction” is. Never mind that Heti herself dislikes the term, as do most writers tarred with the same brush. And never mind that nothing n...
Sheila Heti Scrambles Her Life in 'Alphabetical Diaries' February 13, 2024
I was about thirteen when I read my little sister’s diary. I barely had to flip two pages to see: “Ariella is a bitch!! I hope I never hit puberty.” I confronted her and was swiftly, justly punished for invading my sister’s privacy. It’s a story I’ve...
Sheila Heti’s Gimmicks February 08, 2024
The notes I take when I read are usually long-winded, but the margins in my copies of Sheila Heti’s novels look like this: “!,” “!,” “wow,” “!”. Trills of self-recognition and the kind of wonder I feel when watching a sunset while I’m already in a go...
Sheila Heti Was Wasting Her Time February 07, 2024
“A writer has to follow their curiosity, first and foremost,” writes Sheila Heti in the opening chapter of her nifty and singular new book, Alphabetical Diaries. “A writer is just one person under the stars,” begins the subsequent sentence, “one pers...
Sheila Heti’s Book of Life January 30, 2024
Sheila Heti’s new book does not so much begin as announce itself. Its first sentence reads as a declaration of purpose, as if the book had simply spoken itself into existence....
