An Interview with Christopher Rziha

Christopher J. Rziha completed his undergraduate studies at Benedictine College, earning degrees in philosophy, theology, and Spanish. He earned his MA at Baylor University, where he analyzed the presence and role of marriage in the religious theater of the Spanish Golden Age, and he is currently completing his PhD at the University of Notre Dame. On the way he met and married his amazing wife and welcomed two children. Christopher’s research interests lie at the intersection of mystical and theatrical literature of the Spanish Baroque. More specifically, he is interested in examining how the central teachings and themes of the Spanish mystics were dramatized and popularized through theatrical and poetic genres such as the ‘comedia de santos’ and the ‘auto sacramental,’ and how these works are situated within the larger historical, cultural, and religious contexts of Baroque Spain. In addition, Christopher serves as a Solomon Fellow for the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture at Notre Dame.

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What inspired you to start writing this book?

Two things. First, my time as a graduate student, where I was expected to produce writing at a professional level and learned that I could. Second was a comment of a former professor, who told our class that tragedy is the most enduring type of literature, because it embodies loss, which is the deepest element of the human experience. While I agree that brokenness and loss is an integral part of our lives, the mere fact that we recognize such experiences as ‘losses’ means that there is a deeper presence, a deeper unity, a deeper reality that was there to begin with.

Tell us the story of your book’s current title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

It was relatively easy. The book involves several journeys, both literal and metaphorical, and Lucherium is the central ‘power’ of the book that the protagonist must learn to master. Hence, The Way of Lucherium.

If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?

Probably a lot of music from The Lord of the Rings, as well as by the Piano Guys.

What books are you reading (for research or comfort) as you continue the writing process?

I am currently reading (or just finished reading) the following:

The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene

Callista by John Henry Newman

The Mystic Fable by Michel de Certeau

Lo fingido verdadero by Lope de Vega

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

Currently, I’m a doctoral student at the University of Notre Dame. In the past, you likely wouldn’t guess that I worked as a tour guide at the Armstrong Browning Library or that I served as an assistant manager at a local winery.

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

I think my passion for teaching motivated me to write. For me, writing is a way to speak the language of another and to help them understand new worlds and points of view. I cannot count the number of life lessons I have learned from my favorite novels, and I hope my own novel helps others learn something new about themselves or the world they inhabit as well.

Where is your favorite place to write?

At my desk, late at night, ideally with some sort of drink.

What advice would you give your past self at the start of your writing journey?

Writing is a virtue and needs to be treated as such. If you only waited to write until you felt like it, you would still be working on chapter one. Write every day, no matter your mood. What you write may not be good, but you will be teaching yourself how to master the art of writing itself.

What’s one thing you hope sticks with readers after they finish your book?

The ‘mystical’ reality of the mundane, and the epic aspect of the intimate.

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