Lauren Groff: Florida

Characters in this collection of stories, Florida, try to meet the challenges of staying alive while life becomes more and more difficult. A gothic, extreme state, Florida becomes the consciousness of these characters and a microcosm of contemporary America, a depiction of its psychological endangerment. Lauren Groff discusses her uneasy marriage with fear, her distrust of cynicism, and her belief in humor, empathy, and love. Her stories about life are products of her imagination, and this is her imaginatively darkest writing yet. She says it’s a flawed and sad world that’s been dangerous as long as humans have been on it.

Photos by Andrew Weilert.