An Interview with Harry Palacio
Harry Edgar Palacio is a U.S.-born celebrity: an award-winning author, prize-winning fine artist, and critically acclaimed underground indie/alternative musician. He reached #1 on Luxembourg’s indie/alternative charts with the single “Coral Relief” and has performed with Grammy winners and nominees, including Ari Up of The Slits (godmothers of punk) and former members of The Raincoats—bands championed by Kurt Cobain. He has been featured on MTV.
Harry has released 10 albums under the names Oregon Kool-Aid and Harry Edgar Palacio, and has performed in Brooklyn, NYC; September Fest; Peace Fest in the Dominican Republic; Pace University; and at the Paramount Theatre. He was a finalist for the Fjords Review Book Competition and a semi-finalist for both the Quartz Literary Prize and the Willow Run Book Award.
He has published three books and appears in over 75 magazines, journals, and anthologies, including Tule Review, Washington Square Review, and others. His fine art has been featured on the covers of two magazines and included in nine, such as Bitchin’ Kitsch, International Voices, Courtship of Winds, Suburban Witchcraft, and Bellevue Review. He has exhibited in New York City, at the School of Visual Arts, Peekskill Open Studios, and the Robeson Gallery.
Harry has read 5,020 books, ranking him #26 in the U.S. and #49 globally as of 2022. He is a former WARY 88.1 college radio DJ and rock music director, and also a trained astrologer, Reiki grandmaster, and certified Ayurvedic and yoga guru (200Hr, Nepal/India). He is a second-generation Osho lineage practitioner who has meditated over 145,000 minutes in his lifetime.
He earned a Master’s in Education from Manhattanville University, was accepted to Harvard University, and was offered two PhD programs. He has also completed certificates from Stanford, The New School, and Parsons. He served as assistant director at Manhattanville University and has contributed as a music journalist for Popfadblog.
Harry Edgar Palacio is a BIPOC artist living with schizoaffective disorder.
Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?
The theme of the title (Lazarus at His Desk: vertigo-talk) is multiple. It is a layered metaphor about death and the adjoining articulation of its meaning. Lazarus is a metaphor for living life as though it were meant to be lived. In a way it’s a reference to the pact we make with ourselves and the devil. In a way, Lazarus is the dark lord Legba that shepherds us past the crags and bog of our futures toward the rare instances we find that impenetrable fortress upon the bluff of clouds. Where we enjoy the fruits of hell, which are most prominently wisdom and occult knowledges. This in turn takes us to another realm not oft explored.
How did it feel when you first saw your book cover? Or when you first held your book in your hands?
I’ve held many of my creative projects in published form, but this was definitely new and riveting to see my work in its physicality.
Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?
My mom first taught me how to read; she would give me so much spending money to spend on books and sketchbooks (my art is featured on the cover of Lazarus at His Desk: vertigo-talk).
What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?
I was the assistant director of a Manhattanville university. I also worked as a college radio DJ, an international yoga teacher…if I listed all my prior professional accomplishments, it would be long and difficult. But I am also an astrologer and priest in nine religions.
What was the most rewarding/meaningful part of publishing your book?
Every part of giving life to your work is pleasure; it is creating and recreating death.
If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?
Hot Chip – “Flutes”
Old Table – “No Words Exchanged”
Ty Segal – “You Make the Sun Fry”
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – “Done All Wrong”
Black Heart Procession – “Guess I’ll Forget You”
Sly and the Family Stone – “If You Want Me to Stay”
Tori Amos – “Butterfly”
Agnes Obel – “The Curse”
Albert Hammond Jr – “GfC”
Ratatat – “Wildcat”
Ryan Adams – “Bartering Lines”
Big Thief – “UFOF”
Com Truise – “Polyhurt”
Map of Africa – “Bone”
Gil Scott-Heron – “Me and the Devil”
Jess Williamson – “Wild Rain”
The Underachievers – “Herb Shuttles”
What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?
The goal is to disappear into the void of the self…to eventually become destroyed by the gods by the power of grace.
What creative projects are you currently working on?
I have another book going to be released by Atmosphere Press called The Foyer and three more books ready for publication—let’s see what his dark lord commands of me. Also, I have music set to be released soon.
How was working with Atmosphere Press? What would you tell other writers who want to publish?
It was an amazing experience. The one thing I can say that was so extraordinary, even though it all seemed superior work, was the tireless editing that helped make my book what it is in its current emanation.
Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.
Atmosphere Press is a selective hybrid publisher founded in 2015 on the principles of Honesty, Transparency, Professionalism, Kindness, and Making Your Book Awesome. Our books have won dozens of awards and sold tens of thousands of copies. If you’re interested in learning more, or seeking publication for your own work, please explore the links below.
