The Lightning Room with Danielle Pafunda

From the June Issue, Danielle Pafunda’s startling “from The Book of Scab.” We love this interview.

1. When have you ever lost your taste for beauty?

I never lose my taste for beauty, but often lose my taste for Beauty, which I gorged on in my youth.

2. How do you push yourself into enough darkness to write something like “from The Book of Scab”?

When I feel like making trouble, I make writing. No push needed.

3. Who would you tie up in a basement?

The better selves we rarely manage to be.

4. How does a widow typically dress?

Typically, I dunno. But this widow wears her dead love’s suits.

5. What would be the soundtrack to this story?

Breaking glass, The Velvet Underground, mewling, “In a Sentimental Mood.”

6. What kind of lamps are in the waiting room of Hell?

The kind that used to be in the motels lining the highway to Hell, but even those got replaced by less dour lighting. And, coincidentally, the only kind of lamps you can buy at the Walmart in Laramie, WY. We had to return them.