Fever Dreams

In Bliss Montage, Severance author Ling Ma spins surreal short stories of yeti one-night stands, strange drugs, and marital spats. She shares her creative touchstones with V.F.

"LIKE MOTHER USED TO MAKE"

Shirley Jackson "I find this short story even more unnerving than Jackson's 'The Lottery.' It was the inspiration for my story 'G.' "

ATLANTA

FX

"The world of Atlanta is like ours, but sometimes there's an invisible car or a restaurant that serves human hands. The surreal elements are so nonchalantly, seamlessly incorporated."

MY BED

Tracey Emin

"This 1998 installation is the preserved artifact of the artist's bed after a multiple-day bender instigated by a life crisis. I thought of the book as an artifact of a brief time period, a shedding of skin. Due to physical ailments, I had to write while lying down, and many stories came from my dreams."

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