Six questions we asked Lucy Dacus to take a measure of her soul
What's the most overrated virtue?
Humility is important, but often I see people with very low self-esteem and confidence in the name of humility. Humility shouldn't get in the way of trying knew things, recognizing your worth, and valuing your work.
What the most desirable quality for in romantic partner?
Quick conflict resolution. It's easy to share good times with another person, but it's much more difficult to communicate through confusion and frustration, which are both inevitable throughout life.
What's your most treasured possession?
My journals. I've been journalling since I was eight. There are thirteen and two have been lost to backpack theft.
What was the last dream you had about?
So this guy wants to be a cult leader but doesn't really know how to start. He's a well beloved figure at his very strict church, so he offers parents this service that is like a summer camp for boys, but the goal is to purify their souls. Their release will be contingent on their purification, although he never intends to release them. The camp consists of about thirty men from 15 to 30 years of age. Many of them believe they deserve to be there, others see the situation more quickly and try to devise an escape. The wannabe cult leader has an assistant that leaves the camp once a week for food, but the men are supposed to start a garden and eventually cease all connection to the outside. One of them tries to ride out of the camp by laying on top of the van and is severely punished. Eventually, the mothers of these men miss their children and search all over, eventually finding the grounds. They organize a surprise church potluck to celebrate the purification of their sons, and hundreds of people show up to the camp at once to dine on casseroles and bratwursts, completely overwhelming the cult leader who has to pretend that he organized the event himself. All the prisoners go home with their mothers and everyone pretends like nothing ever happened.
What advice would you give your 15-year-old self?
I try not to have regrets, but I would have to bite my tongue real hard to not warn her to stay far away from the boy I started dating when I was 15 and continued to date until I was 20.
Who would you most like to apologise to and why?
Olivia, by best friend in elementary school. Television told me that entering middle school meant that I had two options: be popular or be bullied. I didn't want to be stuffed in lockers, so as a safety precaution, I vowed to do what I could to become popular. I implored her to do the same, but the urgency didn't come across to her. I left her behind in the blurry mess of adolescence and I believe it's the least compassionate I've ever been. I was only eleven, but I still think about it even if she doesn't.
Lucy Dacus’ new record Forever Is A Feeling is released on 28 March via Polydor