A weekly interview series of San Francisco Bay Area authors, first published at SF Weekly from October 4, 2012 to January 28, 2016 and then for a few more years at Litseen.com.
What is art? Is it necessary? Why?
SM: Art is the expression of elation, observation, and imagination in a tangible, virtuosic form that delights fellow humans. It makes life worth living!
EM: It is one of the most joyful expressions of life. It’s all the things – movies, music, drawing – that make humans unique and sets us apart from animals… the fact that we find joy in things that are beyond mere survival.
Why do you get up every morning?
To create and experience art. Period. That’s it. I’ve learned that the planet is perfectly capable of spinning without my input, but hopefully someone on it will read something of mine, or watch one of my plays, and for a moment the world will spin a bit more slowly, with a little less inertia, so they can enjoy or contemplate it for a breath.
