May 25, 2013

Contributor's Notes–Laura-Eve Engel


Laura Eve Engel's work has recently appeared or is forthcoming from Black Warrior Review, Boston Review, Colorado Review, The Southern Review, Tin House and elsewhere. She blogs sporadically here. You can follow her on Twitter @hoostown.



Have you been to Amsterdam? What did you do while you were here? If you've not been yet, what do you think you'd do in our fair town?

I've never been, or really done much traveling at all to speak of. I'd probably arrive on your doorstep looking confused and ask you to hold me.

What is the first creative thing you ever did?

I remember writing a story in 2nd grade about some fairies on an island that I "self-published" in whatever remote room in my elementary school held all the cardboard and construction paper—in my mind, it looks a little something like a janitor's closet. I was convinced even then that I'd ripped off the plot wholesale from something I'd seen on TV, and having at this point no recollection of the story but a pretty good sense of where I stand as a fiction writer, I'd say I probably did. I'm still not sure what I stole from, though. I want to say it was a precocious 2nd grader's reinvention of A Midsummer Night's Dream, but it was probably more like a fan-fiction approach to Fern Gully.

What is the dumbest thing anyone has ever said to you about being a writer?

When I showed my self-published fairy story to my mom she probably said something like "You should be a writer!" Maybe that isn't dumb. Maybe more like tragic, or sabotage.

If you were an angle, what kind of angle would you be?

O boy, are you ready for this? A Laura Eve Engel. 

If you could meet a writer from the 15th, 16th or 17th centuries, who would it be? And what would you talk about?

I'd like to sit down with William Shakespeare and ask him if he's just one dude or, like, a bunch of dudes.

Tell us something few people know about you.

This is probably more like something I think only a few people know about me and actually everyone does, but I love Justin Timberlake. And Top 40 radio generally. I love the radio. I can't help it. As a kid first "discovering" listening to music that way, it made me feel intensely connected to everything else and I've never stopped feeling that way about it, even though now I couldn't disconnect myself from everything else if I wanted to.

Other than Versal (which has clearly been awesome), what's one great place you've been published?

I'm grateful to have a chapbook called [Spoiler Alert], co-written with Adam Peterson, that's out from The Collagist/Dzanc Books. Those are some great folks publishing great things and I feel lucky to be included.

Why did you send work to Versal? Be honest. 

I noticed a bunch of writers whose work I really admired citing Versal in their bios, and that's always a good sign. That's been the most reliable way I've found to get turned on to great, newer journals like you guys. I've also never had work published anywhere outside of the US, so that was a draw; it's exciting to know there are now two countries I owe some apologies to.

What has lasted you ten years?

I was vegetarian for 10 years. I've played guitar for 10 years. I guess, now that I think about it, this year was the 10-year anniversary of my getting a driver's license. Ten is the tin/aluminum anniversary which, I'll be honest, I've never really understood what that meant but I guess I'll be getting my license some campfire cookware or siding or something.

Tell us what you're working on right now.

I have a couple of manuscripts in...the fire? Like irons? One is a collection of poems called Things That Go, and the other is a long poem called I Write to You From the Sea that is growing more bloated and stubborn by the day. I just started a third thing that feels separate but hasn't quite defined itself for me yet. Otherwise, I'm getting pumped to spend this summer at the Young Writers Workshop, where I'm Residential Program Director, and which is my favorite place on earth.

May 21, 2013

Contributor's Notes–Luke Andrew Geddes

Interviews and guest posts from the writers and artists of Versal 10. This edition features Luke Geddes. Luke Andrew Geddes's stories have appeared or are forthcoming in Hayden's Ferry Review, Conjunctions, Mid American Review, and other journals. 




Have you been to Amsterdam? What did you do while you were here? If you've not been yet, what do you think you'd do in our fair town? 

Never been, sadly. If did go to Amsterdam, I’d probably have the Elvis Costello song “New Amsterdam” stuck in my head the whole time, and no matter what I did, I’d board the plane home feeling like I did the wrong things and missed out on all the stuff I should have done. 

What is the first creative thing you ever did?

From a very young age I wanted to be a cartoonist and liked to draw, but I didn’t have the talent or patience for it. Writing is what I do now instead, and although I find it marginally easier and the results better, the process isn’t nearly as fun—is usually not much fun at all, in fact.

What is the dumbest thing anyone has ever said to you about being a writer?

Pretty much everything my MFA workshop professor/thesis director ever said.

If you were an angle, what kind of angle would you be?

Acute.

If you could meet a writer from the 15th, 16th or 17th centuries, who would it be? And what would you talk about?

I’m hoping Chaucer counts (born in the 14th century, died in the 15th) because he tells better dirty jokes than Milton or Donne and probably Shakespeare, too.

Tell us something few people know about you.

When I first found out my book was going to be published, I didn’t tell anyone—not my partner, friends, or closest family—until about ten days or two weeks after I’d gotten the news. The joy and sense of accomplishment I felt when no one knew besides me (and my publisher) was purer than anything I’ve felt since. I loved being able to think about it all that time, knowing no one else knew. Now I’m never totally satisfied with any praise or congratulations I receive about it; it all seems facile, not sincere or glowing or enthusiastic enough. 

I’ve felt this way about a lot of my successes, that, while I want the world to know about my every minor and major achievement, the recognition only ends up cheapening it.

Other than Versal (which has clearly been awesome), what's one great place you've been published?

Hayden’s Ferry Review was a turning point, and the story they published I considered at the time (and still do in some ways) my very best. Beth Staples, the editor, is awesome.

Why did you send work to Versal? Be honest. 

I felt like “Mom’s Team v. Dad’s Team” was a weird length—longer than a short short but still shorter than my average story—and it seemed like that was just right for Versal. Also, I noticed in Alissa Nutting’s book that one of the stories was published in Versal so I wanted to publish a story here, too.

What has lasted you ten years?

An increasingly unhealthy sense of cynicism and growing mistrust of everyone I meet.

Tell us what you're working on right now.

At this very moment—as I answer this question—I’m working on promoting my book, I Am a Magical Teenage Princess, a short story collection about teenagers, rock ‘n’ roll, cartoons, the 1960s, cavemen, sex, and other things, and about which Publishers Weekly has said, “In a lesser writer’s hands the work would come off as puerile, but Geddes’s sure prose, empathy, pop cultural knowledge, and stoner wit make for a rewarding and unusual collection.” It comes out July 18th and you can go to my website (www.iamamagicalteenageprincess.com) to find out more and marvel at the glowing blurbs from such luminaries as Chris Bachelder, Alissa Nutting, and Michael Griffith.