About Andrew Gretes
Andrew Gretes is the author of How to Dispose of Dead Elephants (Sandstone Press, 2014). His fiction has appeared in New England Review, Witness, Sycamore Review, Booth, and other journals. His Twitter handle is @acgretes.
A Profile of the Author
Notes on “Mind Graffiti”
“What if God got dementia?” That’s probably where the story began: as a question you ask yourself in the shower, eyes closed, mind squinting. If I’m being more honest, I suppose I would say that the story was overdetermined: my dorky loyalty to Lord of the Rings, my fascination with the philosopher George Berkeley, my experience of being recently divorced—too many causes to count. Among other things, it’s also a story about friendship. Going on an insane quest and knowing that at least one person will have your back, no matter what happens: there’s something quite comforting about that! So perhaps the story is an ode to Sancho Panza.
Music, Food, Booze, Tattoos, Kittens, etc.
What I’ve been listening to? Well, recently I’ve become a little obsessed with a podcast called “Entitled Opinions” by Robert Harrison. What if Jimi Hendrix was a Dante scholar at Stanford? The answer is Robert Harrison. As for music, The Kinks are always fun. I had a nice moment watching one of the new Marvel movies (Endgame). Halfway through the movie, a lesser-known Kinks song began playing (“Supersonic Rocket Ship”). In the theater, I immediately perked up and turned to my brother, excited to inform him of my vast knowledge of the British music-hall genre. My brother preemptively said, “Shut up, I don’t care.” The song ended. Thor and Hulk engaged in dialogue. I felt special.
