Joshua Bohnsack is a writer and musician. His forthcoming album Desire Path from his ambient project Casts will be available May 21, 2026. His work has appeared in The Rumpus, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, AGNI, FENCE, and others. He is the founding editor of Long Day Press, faculty advisor of Oyez Review, and teaches at Roosevelt University’s MFA in creative writing program.
Bohnsack plays in the bands Gold Dust and Driftless Region. He grew up on a farm and moved to Chicago.
1) What is the first thing that burned you?
The engine of a three-wheeler against my leg.
2) What do you smell like?
I hope like the woods.
3) What do you feel is more true: Every crazy person is a movie, every movie is a crazy person, or neither?
Every crazy person is a movie. People have a lot of stories if only they pay attention to the narrative.
4) How does your heart feel?
Lighter than it has in a long time.
5) What was it like to ride in your parents car as a kid? What about now—or equivalent?
We listened to pop-country or Counting Crows when they took me to preschool. Those songs put me back there in the backseat, looking out the window. I had separation anxiety so I was sad and carsick. I cried when my dad sold his Jeep. Now I think about driving my dogs around. They also have separation anxiety.
6) Does your misery love company?
No. It withdraws, personally. But I do like to make art from misery and hope others find company in it.
7) What does a potato chip mean to you? What does it taste like?
My favorite chip is Sterzing’s, which you can only get in Iowa. An ex told me they taste like donuts. I wanted to visit the factory in Burlington, but they said, “We don’t do that anymore.” I assumed someone fell in a vat.
8) What does touching feel like?
I’ve heard humans can’t feel wetness, but sensorily, I know if I pull clothes out of the dryer if they’re still wet. Do my atoms know what I don’t?
9) Do you belong to and on Earth?
I didn’t always think so, but there is nothing more important than the earth. While I’m here, I belong to it.
10) What is your first memory and what does it mean to your work?
We had a potbelly pig named Elvis who we gave to the zoo. I think my dad was tired of feeding him. I was sitting on the fence and told a zoo employee, “I’m the only one this pig never bit.” My dad grabbed me to shut me up. I don’t know if I actually remember it, or I only remember photos of Elvis and what my dad told me of the events. That’s the thing with truth and memory, they’re fallible and embarrassing
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