“All interesting and compelling works start from play.” —Mac Crane
On Saturday, March 21, Mac Crane will teach “The Art of Experimental Writing.” In this class, students of all levels of experience will study and write experimental work that breaks boundaries, subverts Western literary conventions, and refuses genre. Let’s get weird with writing!
Mac Crane is a jock, sweatpants enthusiast, and the award-winning author of I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself (Catapult 2023), A Sharp Endless Need (Dial 2025), and the forthcoming short story collection Perverts (July 2026). Their short work has appeared in Prairie Schooner, Passages North, Joyland, The Offing, No Tokens, The Florida Review, TriQuarterly, Lit Hub, Catapult, F(r)iction, and elsewhere. A recipient of fellowships from Vermont Studio Center, American Short Fiction, and the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, they currently live in San Diego with their family.
Here’s what Mac had to share with us:
Who are your earliest influences? What people and books made you a writer?
The very first books that made me want to be a writer were The Hardy Boys series and Matt Christopher’s sports books, like Catcher with a Glass Arm and The Kid Who Only Hit Homers. They aren’t my influences, but they did inspire me and enchant me and make me believe in my ability to tell a good story one day. My influences, gosh, I have so many! James Baldwin, Hanif Abdurraqib, Justin Torres, Jenny Offill, Anne Carson, Carmen Maria Machado, George Saunders, Denis Johnson, Octavia Butler, and so many more.
What writing challenges have you faced? What have these challenges taught you about your process?
Every book I undertake demands new and difficult things from me. New strategies, new perspectives, new ways of creating a world. That’s the fun and terrifying thing about wanting to write for the rest of my days. I’ll always be in the middle of a challenge. What I have to remind myself is that the challenges are temporary, that I won’t always live inside of them.
From your perspective, what’s the most rewarding part about being a writer?
Connecting with readers and other writers. Hearing from those who have said that my work makes them feel seen, inspired, and moved. The other most rewarding part, for me, is seeing how far I can push myself to experiment and find new and fresh ways to tell a story. I’m proud of the ways in which I challenge myself.
Who do you write for?
Queer and trans people, parents, jocks, and yearners—sometimes people at the intersection of all of those.
What do you hope writers will learn from your course?
That there are a million ways to tell a story, and writing the best one that you can starts with giving yourself permission to experiment and play and delight in your work. I’m convinced that all interesting and compelling works start from play.
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Thanks, Mac!
Click here to learn more about Mac’s upcoming class.
