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RL: Do you see, in the future, academic programs moving beyond that distinction? I think we try and tell ourselves that it’s distinct so we can feel a little better, but I think that it’s just culture, and some of it is more popular than the rest. Why are we making this distinction between culture and pop culture? I don’t know that the line is as distinct as people want it to be. RL: It seems like there’s a way in which there is no culture but pop culture.
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And that interests me: How much will people debase themselves for a little bit of fame? Watching that process is very intriguing to me. I think it’s awesome, and I think it’s worth celebrating, and also-more importantly-I think it’s worth critiquing, because I think pop culture really reflects the best and worst of who people are. I think all too often people deride pop culture as, you know, beneath us, but I don’t think it’s beneath us. I think it’s tacky and trashy and hilarious, and I’m always interested in just sort of how low our culture will go-or how high, depending on how you look at it. RL: Can you talk about how pop culture figures into your work?
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So I’m always just trying to write things that will move people in some form or fashion, whether I’m writing fiction or nonfiction. RG: I’m a Libra, so I like a little bit of everything, so I write a little bit of everything. Rachel Lyon: Can you describe your work a little bit? I’m a writer, and an assistant professor at Eastern Illinois University.