Brian Allen Carr: On Poking Fun at White-Collar America
Brian Allen Carr is an Aspen Words finalist, two-time Wonderland Book Award Winner, and recipient of the inaugural Texas Observer Story Prize as judged by Larry McMurtry. His short fiction has appeared in Granta, McSweeney’s, Boulevard, and other publications. He was born in Austin, Texas, and lives in Indiana.
Brian Allen Carr
In this post, Brian discusses the inspiration behind his new novel, Bad Foundations, his experience working in higher education, and more!
Name: Brian Allen Carr
Literary agent: Michael Mungiello @ Inkwell
Book title: Bad Foundations
Publisher: Clash Books
Release date: January 23, 2024
Genre/category: Fiction
Previous titles: Opioid, Indiana; Motherfucking Sharks
Elevator pitch: A semi-cursed father explores predictive data, quantum physics, and laser beams as he works to lessen both his personal curse and the carbon footprint of humanity—saving houses from water damage and driving a Prius across the land. Plus: lots of legal weed, a few jail stays, and some drawings.
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What prompted you to write this book?
I wanted to romanticize something physically and realistically dirty, and I wanted to make something gross, pedestrian, and terrifying seem funny and infinite.
I wanted to write a book that poked fun at white-collar Americans with luxury belief systems—zoomers who sit in front of traffic as a form of “resistance.” Hahaha. Those people crack me up.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
Yikes! This is my third novel and ninth book, but more than any other project I’ve worked on, this book would represent my life’s work.
It’s basic and cheesy and cliche, but books saved my life. I was a shitty student and a juvenile delinquent, but when I found art and decided to be a writer, it gave me purpose. (It didn’t wash the bullshit all the way off, but it made me a better man.)
When I was younger, the two main ways I learned about GOOD books were through my menial jobs and drug culture.
The internet has made it so young men don’t really read anymore, but back in the day all the erudite rebels would pass around books by Carlos Casteneda, Hunter S. Thompson, Bukowski, the Beats, Hemingway—biographies on rock bands and rappers—so they could learn to be good outsiders.
I wanted to write a book that those people—myself and my peers, the working-class kids who passed around art—would love.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
Nope. American publishing is very basic. Write books that white women can cry while reading and you’ll probably do fine.
Write a book outside of that, and you’ll have to fight to find an audience.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
Absolutely. When I decided to write this book, I was still teaching higher education. So, it meant changing careers to do the work justice. People who work in higher education are mean and bitter and hate their coworkers. Go to a humanities meeting at any institution of higher learning and you can legit smell the bile and passive aggression.
A sales force, on the other hand, loves each other. They compete ferociously, but they have well articulated rules: sell more and you’ll get more respect. They’ll still disagree, but it doesn’t last very long.
In higher ed, two professors will hate each other for 20 years over a disagreement on the importance of enjambment. Salespeople will fist fight over 50 dollars and two days later they’ll be over it for life.
We are told one of these is toxic. Toxic means poisonous. Poison is not the way sales people fight each other.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
I hope readers read it and laugh and learn about houses. I hope writers read it and quit their academic jobs, quit bemoaning their bullshit, and go do something tangible in the name of art. (The alternative is basically just living with your parents and pissing in jars for ecology Jesus).
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Don’t be a poser—it’s fundamentally detrimental to society when artists lie about who they are. Right, I don’t think I’ve ever met an Ivy League Author who didn’t present as though from utter trauma. Um … WTF? How does that even work?
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