Now at 70, author Chris Kraus remains as unstoppable as ever to the establishment’s co-opting bees. Readers are drawn into her story by her honesty, her razor wit, and her humor. She came to international attention with her 1997 book I Love Dick. The new work she’s been developing might begin with her obsession with cultural theorist Dick Hebdige. Since then, Kraus has expanded upon the work she began in I Love Dick, challenging concepts of identity, relationships, and society in her fiction, essays, screenplays, and performances.
Kraus’s childhood in Milford, Connecticut, was defined by academic achievement as a defense against daily harassment. This experience deeply informed her worldview and her understanding of gender relations and personal interactions, something she often wrote about in her body of work. For over 40 years, she has maintained a meticulous hourly, daily, and weekly diary. It’s equal parts personal archive and abundant source of inspiration for her own writing.
As evidenced in her recent works, Kraus has drawn upon her journalistic past. Her reporting follows actual crime stories, such as what happened to three teens who kidnapped and murdered another teen on a hiking trail close to their home. She contextualizes this tragic occurrence by exploring the troubling, painful depths of working-class America. Too many communities are left to deal with the aftermath of addiction, violence, family breakdowns, poverty and lost opportunity.
Kraus’s relationship to Dick Hebdige is more than just intellectual admiration. He’s the inspiration for her notorious eponymous “Dick.” Kraus’s book, most agree, is a revolutionary work of feminist literature. Yet, she was the one who first attempted to block its release because she feared it presented graver privacy and personal ramifications.
Kraus, who recently came out with her ninth book, “The Four Spent the Day Together,” In it, she goes through the stark juxtaposition of her hugely successful public life in her 60s, contrasted with her deeply troubled personal life. This duality shows the complications behind stardom and personal turmoils.
In 2012, Kraus and her second husband purchased a cabin in rural Minnesota. Many of them looked for peace and a respite from the busy, bustling pace of life in the city. Having made a home in this tranquil place, she has been able to process her experiences and develop the next stage in her writing journey.
Kraus uses the term nonfiction novels, rather than autofiction or reporting on experience. She masterfully points out the story-like quality of her work while keeping it very much rooted in reality. She has played a central teaching role at the ArtCenter in Pasadena. Over the years, and still today, she has inspired and influenced generations of graduate art students.
Kraus’s critiques of American society today are devastating and necessary. She articulates a sense of nihilism and apathy prevalent within American culture:
“There’s just an inexplicable depravity at the heart of it that pretty much defines American contemporary society. It’s a nihilism and an apathy that swirls underneath everything.” – Chris Kraus
Her journey through the rubrics of identity and love has been an infectious undertone in all her work. Kraus reflects on the nature of family and the pretenses that often accompany it:
“Everything about our family was based on pretence, and pretence is the opposite, of course, of writing. I didn’t want to hurt them.” – Chris Kraus
She understands that personal relationships can be fluid and complicated over time.
“If you’ve known someone for 20 years and they are part of your permanent family, those are such flexible and relative terms: together, apart.” – Chris Kraus
Kraus’s critiques run deep into the world of media and general societal practices. She notes the fierce competition within the attention economy:
“There’s so much competition within the attention economy that people push things to their absolute limits.” – Chris Kraus
As a writer who has navigated various phases of life and career challenges, Kraus is motivated to explore not only youth but middle age. She expresses a desire to encompass all aspects of life in her future works:
“I’m going to write about all of it. Not just about youth, but about middle age.” – Chris Kraus