What makes someone a freak? For Alyson Mosquera Dutemple, it has less to do with how strange someone might appear on the surface, and more about how alone someone can feel in a crowd. In her debut short story collection, Marvelous Freaks of Nature!, outsiders, eccentrics, and oddballs move through a world that is at times grotesque, hilarious, surreal, and surprisingly tender. Dutemple’s characters may feel cut off from the rest of the world, but they aren’t without desire—for connection, belonging, or love. It’s fitting that a former screenwriter who spent years writing romantic comedies before pivoting to fiction, would find, to her surprise, that loneliness was what kept emerging.
I had the pleasure of talking with Alyson about loneliness, screenwriting, mixtapes, and the pleasure of letting a story surprise you.
This interview has been condensed for length and clarity.
Continue reading “Finding Tenderness in the Grotesque: Alyson Mosquera Dutemple Discusses Marvelous Freaks of Nature!”