Recto/Verso: Conversations Beyond Art with Liz Asch
Season 1
Jon Raymond on Writing God and Sex: A Recto/Verso Artist Interview with Liz Asch
by Liz Asch
Join Liz Asch ask she asks Jon Raymond about the process of writing and releasing his latest novel, God and Sex, a book about spirituality, faith, trust, natural disaster, and how we heal and grow amidst our own mistakes. Jon Raymond is a novelist, screen writer, and art critic, author of the novels Denial, Freebird, The Half-Life, and Rain Dragon – and one of my favorite short story collections, Livability (which one a Ken Kesey award). Jon wrote the screenplays for Showing Up, Old Joy, Wendy and Lucy, Meek's Cutoff, Night Moves, and First Cow, with Kelly Reichardt, who directed the films. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for his work on the HBO miniseries, Mildred Pierce, which he co-wrote with director Todd Haynes, and we are here today to talk about his latest novel, God and Sex, which comes out this August. Over the years, Jon and I have crossed paths in Portland as both writers and parents. I always enjoy our conversations and I’m thrilled to welcome him as a guest to the podcast. We are here today in my living room to talk about the process of writing God and Sex, the deep-rooted questions the novel raises, and how to make a meaningful life amidst the challenges and gifts of being an artist in today’s world. I try to steer away from spoilers, as we talk about this exciting novel which takes place in Ashland, Oregon, amidst personal crises and natural disasters. We follow a cast of three characters, who each have a different relationship to the two themes named in the title: God and Sex, as they endure life changes, betrayals, and tragedy. Thanks to Ezra Greenhill for our theme song and to Alix Grande for production support.
Anna Diem is a Portland, Oregon based singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. Her album Hello Oregon came out in 2022, Small Victories in 2019, and Gay Love Songs is her 2018 EP. Anna has a wide range of singles as well. Her lyrics are poetic and intimate, and she sings about love and queerness, culture, nostalgia, and yearning, mostly in the alt-pop genre. You can find her music on Spotify, Apple, Youtube, and Bandcamp. Your host is Liz Asch, author of Your Salt on My Lips and creator and voice of the meditation podcast, Body Land Metaphor Medicine, where you can find over fifty guided visualizations designed to help you feel more grounded, soothed, and settled in your nervous system. Body Land Metaphor Medicine is in English and Spanish. Liz is an acupuncturist and psilocybin facilitator in Portland, Oregon, where she writes about the body, the natural world, and the psyche through phases of peril, transformation, and growth. Thanks to Ezra Greenhill for our theme song and to Alix Grande for production support.