Mark Haber Writes, Reads, and Writes Some More
On the heels of his latest novel ‘Ada,’ the Minneapolis-based writer chats about New Directions, Wakefield Press, treating his new book as a sprint, and more.
Mark Haber is what we used to call a Distinguished Man of Letters. I don’t think the title exists anymore—if it does it’s been slopified to all hell by our AI controllers—but Haber perseveres regardless. He’s the sort of writer I aspire to be: His books have a loyal audience; he has tremendous relationships with his peers; he occasionally finds himself at a European writer’s retreat; and, most importantly, he’s got a New Directions tattoo.
After spending a number of years as a bookseller at the great Brazos Bookstore in Houston, Haber and his wife relocated to Minneapolis, where they both work for the excellent Coffee House Press. So, when Haber isn’t working for the publishing house that released each of his first four novels, he’s writing said novels. It should be noted that the contract for his latest, Ada, was signed before he began his work as an employee of Coffee House.
Haber acquires books and oversees their marketing strategies, and then he goes home and writes. When he’s not writing, he’s drinking good coffee and reading. He does all this while boasting a New Directions tattoo. Hard to beat that. I’ve been drawn to Mark’s work for some time, but I jumped at the chance to speak with him following the release of Ada, a 90 page novel about a horny, lonely, deeply unhappy king named Gerard Desacroux IV. The novel is hysterical, a whirlwind tour of a world that comes directly from Haber’s mind but feels deeply familiar and real within its first pages. It’s a sterling achievement from Haber, to be able to establish so much, so quickly, and pull it off with nary a bead of sweat running down his face. There’s plenty more to dive into, but the book is 90 pages and I’d be remiss if I didn’t encourage you to simply start reading it; as soon as you’re done with this interview. Buy Ada here.
I can’t remember a time in which I was so quickly immersed in a world. It happens so fast in Ada. It’s slim, so you need to do it quickly, but how did you get in the headspace to write this way? To speak in this language?
