Musings of the Artist: (Honest) Conversations with Montse Andrée

Aline Smithson is a visual artist, editor, and educator based in Los Angeles. She is also the Founder and Editor- in-Chief of Lenscratch , a daily journal on photography.  In this conversation, Aline talks about her trajectory to fine art photography: from painter, to fashion editor to photographer. We discuss roadblocks and fear, long-term projects, the nuances of rejection, building community in...

Emily Bernard is an author and professor. She holds a B.A. and Ph. D. in American Studies from Yale University. Her most recent book is the essay collection Black is the Body: Stories from My Grandmother’s Time, My Mother’s Time, and Mine. In this wide-ranging conversation, Emily speaks on motherhood, fear, forgiveness, rejecting shame and staying true to who you are as an artist. We also dive dee...

Mary Gauthier is a Grammy-nominated songwriter, and author. She has a gift of making outsiders feel like insiders, which is a beautiful thread throughout her new memoir “Saved by a Song.” We talk about making a life out of being creative, the vulnerability of performing, the beauty and wonder of being a late bloomer, and why the maybe’s we get are worse than the “nos”. This episode was audio produ...

Lidia Yuknavitch is the nationally bestselling author of the novels The Book of Joan , The Small Backs of Children , and Dora: A Headcase , and the memoir The Chronology of Water. Her newest book Verge is a collection of short stories. She also has a TED Talk “The Beauty of Being a Misfit” that has been viewed by millions. She lives in Portland, Oregon. Lidia and I had a wide-ranging conversation...

Andrew Duhon is a singer-songwriter from New Orleans. In this episode, we chat about the search for belonging, self-acceptance, and finding the profound in the minutia. Andrew also talks about songwriting and art making in a way that is mesmerizing and inspiring. As he says, “No one else is you, no one else can tell your story. It is your human tale to tell.” This episode was audio produced by Aar...

Nadia Owusu is an author and urbanist who grew up between Africa and Europe and now lives in Brooklyn.  In the episode Nadia talks about her memoir Aftershocks and the ways growing up between cultures shaped her life. We also chat about claiming, naming, and accepting mental illness as a part of one’s identity, code-switching, and the gifts of memoir. This episode was audio produced by Aaron Morin...

Pam Houston is the author of many books including the memoir, "Deep Creek: Finding Hope In The High Country", "Cowboys are my Weakness" and most recently "Air Mail: Letters of Politics, Pandemics, and Place" (with Amy Irvine). Pam is also a fantastic teacher and the co-founder and creative director of the literary nonprofit Writing By Writers. In this episode we talk all about place, writing, non-...

Rachel Eliza Griffiths is a poet, visual artist, and novelist. We chat about her stunning collection of poetry and photography, "Seeing the Body". Some of the topics we speak on include monumental loss and the grief that follows, memory, languages of sadness, taking action against despair, and pushing away the useless pressure of likability. Rachel Eliza also tells us about her many selves as an a...

Josh Telles is a Celebrity and Food Photographer based in LA. He has photographed artists like Nicole Kidman, David Lynch, Mary J. Blige, and so many others.  In this episode, Josh tells us about his path to becoming the photographer he is today. We chat about vulnerability in photo making, chronic anxiety, telling other people’s stories through photography, “post-creative depression” and much mor...

Cig Harvey is a photographer and writer based in Maine. She is the author of three sold-out books, and Blue Violet , her new book of photographs, drawings, and writing will be out in May.  In this episode, we talk all about books, intuition, her photography process (hooray for “date nights” with photos!), and the importance of noticing in art making. This episode was audio produced by Aaron Moring...

Mickey Guyton is a powerhouse vocalist and songwriter.  In this conversation, we talked about being an introvert in the public eye, preparing for motherhood, mentorship, and The Bachelorette .  We also talk about the urgency of leaning into who you are. As a Black woman in Country music —a traditionally white-and male-dominated industry— Mickey tells us about the revelatory moment when she embrace...

Valerie June is a singer, songwriter, poet, and multi-instrumentalist. She also (so wonderfully) describes herself as a “professional dreamer.” In this episode she speaks on finding home on the road and within oneself, her writing practice, manifestation, and how to be a “light worker.” We also chat about being hermit-like, moving through sadness, the joy of nature and letters, and much more!  Val...

Naomi Shihab Nye is a Palestinian-American poet, Young People's Poet Laureate through the Poetry Foundation, and editor of poems for the New York Times Sunday magazine. She has written or edited more than 30 books, most recently Cast Away , The Tiny Journalist , Voices in the Air, and Everything Comes Next.   Naomi is full of poignant stories and refreshing wisdom. In this episode, she reads my al...

Dawn Landes is a singer-songwriter and delightful person. In this episode we chat all about art and life. We get into her album ROW about the incredible story of Tori Murden McClure (the first woman to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean!), her life as a new-ish mother, our love of memoirs, Patti Smith, and much more. Where to find Dawn: Website Instagram Twitter Ted Talk This episode was audio pro...

Lissie is an American singer-songwriter. In this episode we talk all about vulnerability. On feeling “oversized” emotions and the creative side of that, trauma (collective and personal), comparative suffering, and the special bonds we can form with animals. She also speaks on her quarantine experience, what it’s like living on a farm in Iowa,  on the kindness in openness,  and her favorite musical...

Christine Shevchenko is a Principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre . I spoke with her last month about life as a principal ballerina - and what that looks like during quarantine! I love hearing stories about the moment people recognize the thing that brings them to life - and she shares her moment, when she knew she wanted to be a dancer. Christine also tells us what makes global water charit...

Tara Schuster is an author, playwright, and Comedy Central’s VP of Talent and Development. We chat all about her new book, "Buy Yourself the F*cking Lilies: and Other Rituals to Fix Your Life from Someone Who has Been There".  We talk rock bottoms, re-parenting, becoming your own champion and making new friends as an adult. Tara tells us why “should” is her least favorite word and she has some wis...

Carolyn Forché is a poet, translator, and activist whose work has been translated into over twenty languages. Her books of poetry are Blue Hour , The Angel of History , The Country Between Us , Gathering the Tribes , and In the Lateness of the World . Her memoir, What You Have Heard Is True , describes her time in El Salvador shortly before and during the civil war there, and was a finalist for th...

Tina Lifford is an actress, playwright and author. She currently plays Aunt Vi on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network’s show Queen Sugar, and you might also recognize her from her roles on Scandal and Parenthood . She is also known behind the camera as a playwright, and author of The Little Book of Big Lies . As you will find within moments of listening to Tina, she exudes positivity and light. In this...

Gina Chavez is a bilingual singer-songwriter based in Austin, TX.  Singing in both English and Spanish, her record Up. Rooted topped both the Amazon and Latin iTunes charts following a feature on NPR's All Things Considered. Her Tiny Desk concert made NPR’s top 15 of 2015. In this wide-ranging conversation we talk about her Latin roots, releasing music during the pandemic, breaking through the noi...

Lily King is the author of five award-winning novels including Euphoria which was named one of the 10 best books of 2014 by The New York Times. Her most recent novel Writers & Lovers was published in March this year, and I LOVED it. In addition to her novels, she has published many stories and essays including a piece for Modern Love (An Empty Heart Is One That Can Be Filled) . If you haven’t read...

Under the name Quiet Creature , illustrator and fine artist Jane Beaird ’s work has been featured by Glamour Magazine , Teen Vogue and highlighted by national political organizations,  celebrated actors, and prominent advocacy groups including Planned Parenthood and The Women's March. She made the cover art for this podcast, too! She also works in the Film and TV world as an actress and stand-in....

Letitia VanSant is a folk singer-songwriter based in Baltimore, MD.  She has received many awards and accolades for her songwriting including being named among Paste Magazine’s “10 Country Artists to Watch” in 2020. Her new album Circadian was released last month, and is an honest and powerful reflection on significant themes. In our conversation we touch on re-imagining dreams, quieting your inne...

Jessica Ciencin Henriquez is a Colombian-American writer and editor. Her personal essays and narrative journalism have appeared in the New York Times among many other publications. Her essays have also been featured in multiple anthologies, including Oprah's Little Guide to The Big Questions , and she is the author of the forthcoming memoir: If You Loved Me You Would Know. Jess is also a wonderful...

Allison (“Alli”) Russell is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist in Birds of Chicago and Our Native Daughters . She is also a mother and describes herself as a “connection seeker.” I recently sat down with Alli in New Orleans, and I was so grateful to spend this hour with her. Alli has an incredibly powerful story. To me, she is a shining example of someone who has walked through darkness...