Featured Writer, Betty Doyle

Betty Doyle is a cool cat. She has been with us from the beginning--one of our first Facebook 'likes', one of our first Twitter followers, and one of our first submissions. She has had her short stories, "Clear Eyes" and "An American Heart" featured in Issues 1 and 2 respectively, and will have another piece of prose, "Kymia Nawabi", included in the forthcoming Issue 3: 'Pay Homage'. Betty shows great maturity in her writing, using metaphors and imagery that is somehow both vivid and abstract. Her fiction is very poetic in its style and can evoke strong emotions in the reader. It is clear that she has much effort and emotion behind her writings, drawing inspiration from those around her and her personal experiences. Betty is also a big Kate Nash fan, which is super cool in its own right.

First some basics:

Introduce yourself to everyone. Who is Betty Doyle? What is she? What makes her tick?

I’m 18 years old, I’m a natural blonde and I’m from near-ish Liverpool in North West England. I never really appreciated where I come from until I went to London and realized how horrible it is, and since then Liverpool has been creeping into my poems and stories. I’m very proud to be British - I mean, I’m not a diehard fan of the Queen or anything but I think the UK is a bit of an underdog and gets a bit of a hard time. Pretty much everyone I know goes nuts for America, I guess because you’re all shiny and new, but I think people forget how great Britain is. My favourite Beatle is George.

I’m a published, performing, and award-winning poet and writer. I can officially say that now! A poetry anthology I contributed to won an award and I’m telling everyone it was me. I’m also nearly a published ARTIST (a piece of my work plus a poem is due to be published in Belgium, can you believe, by my good friend Lorien), I run about six blogs, I play Sims 2 a lot, I play ukulele, and my favourite drink is vodka coke. If you could be a professional Tweeter, I so would be one.

A lot of things annoy me - if you follow me on Twitter, you’ll know! One thing that really stands out for me though is attitudes towards writing. I’m pretty much ALWAYS the youngest person at poetry readings, or being published, and I’m a girl too, so I’m definitely underestimated as a writer. I do think sexism exists in writing, I think a lot of people switch off for women writers because they expect it to be a massive gush of emotions. And whenever I tell people I want to be a writer, they always suggest ‘what about an English teacher? what about a journalist?’ Being a writer isn’t a ‘real’ job.

How did you get started in writing? In other words, what inspired you? One day you weren’t a writer and the next, you were—what changed?

I wish it was as straight-cut as that! I don’t want to be horribly cliche, but I’ve been writing since I was a very little kid. I’ve always felt like a writer, but I guess I didn’t really ‘become’ a writer until I was 17. I read poetry aloud at a local arts festival and then a month later I was published in your first issue, and it was pretty overwhelming, it was like ‘hey, I’ve been waiting ‘round 17 years for this and it all comes at once?!’ But I feel as though I really became a writer when I got involved with English PEN’s ‘Poems for Pussy Riot’ project. I really connected with the Pussy Riot case because they were basically being punished for free speech and, as a writer, that’s something I value above everything else. When they were imprisoned, English PEN set up this project, and I contributed this small poem I didn’t really like, called ‘Women of the Year’. I originally wrote it about Lana Del Rey’s naked photo shoot in GQ magazine, but then scrapped it and wrote it about Pussy Riot and feminism. The poem was included in the anthology and translated into Russian, and it was turned into an actual physical book, and it’s now won an award, with all the proceeds going to Pussy Riot’s legal fund. ‘Women of the Year’, I think, has been a great springboard for me. I sent the poem off as part of a portfolio of creative writing for a university place, and they called me a ‘political poet’, which made me ridiculously happy. I then read ‘Women of the Year’, and some other poems, at a Pussy Riot event in Liverpool, where I was the youngest person there by about ten years, and everyone kept coming up to me and asking for my name and congratulating me. It was crazy.

Now to get a little deeper:

You’ve only had fiction featured in Some Weird Sin, but you also write poetry. Which do you prefer? Which do you tend to write more? Do you find there to be vast differences in theme, tone, style, etc. between your prose and poetry?

At the moment, I prefer and write more fiction. I still write poetry - a lot of poetry - but I went through a five-month slump of not writing a poem at all. I’d just written ‘Women of the Year’, which had a huge impact on my life, and everything I wrote afterwards seemed horrible. I felt very pressured, and a little intimidated. So I started to write short stories, to calm my nerves a little. You can relax a bit more in a short story, because you can ramble a bit. I think poems are so much shorter, you have to pack a great big punch straight away.

I tend to write poems when I’m very angry, very sad, or very in love. I have to feel extreme emotions to execute my best poems, whereas I can write short stories about almost anything. Writing fiction is my way of relaxing, but keeping my creativity in shape.

As for themes and tones and content, personally, I don’t find much difference between my prose and poetry. It may be really vain, but I prefer writing about myself, my emotions, my passions and upsets, real life experiences, in both prose and poetry. I think it makes my writing far more realistic. I think my style is pretty similar too. I love abstract imagery, and I like to overload the senses - sometimes I can be inspired by minute details like colours, or the way the air tastes, or different light. I do a lot of Art so I’m big on colours and light.

I find poetry harder to get published, though. Fiction is a little more safe. A lot of people have a lot of staunch opinions on poetry and if you don’t fit into that, you’re out. Whereas you can appreciate good fiction, regardless of whether it’s your favourite style or not. People tend to get a bit totalitarian over poetry. A lot of people hate rhyme, they hate free verse, they hate short words or colloquial language. Poetry has evolved now, I think sometimes the most simple poems, most plain in language, can be the most effective.

As you know, the theme for the next issue is ‘Pay Homage’. To you, what does that mean? To whom or what do you pay homage?

Paying homage to me, personally, means honouring someone or something that has helped you, or inspired you. My short story in the ‘Pay Homage’ issue is for an Iranian artist called Kymia Nawabi, whose work really inspired me when I was going through a horrible time, when I was  overwhelmed and exhausted.

Because so much of my work is about my own life and my relationships, I like to think I pay homage to a lot of people quite regularly. I write poems for my friends all the time. Sometimes, I just borrow someone’s name for a story, and they really like that.

Similar to last question, but getting more specific. Who or what inspires you the most in regards to your writing? In what ways? Do you find yourself writing about the same things or using common themes?

I read a lot, I think it’s a great technique in order to become a better writer, so other people’s work inspires me a lot. There are three main writers whose work grabbed me and shook  me -Sylvia Plath, Jeffrey Eugenides, and Angela Carter. All three use amazing imagery, which I try to inject into my own writing. Angela Carter was also a fantastic feminist, and that shows in her work, and has definitely influenced my own writing.

Relationships, I think, inspire me the most in regards to my writing. Not just romantic relationships, but the relationships between family members, friends, even enemies. I write about that the most, in both prose and poetry. I find myself using common themes a lot, too. As I’ve said, I prefer writing about my own life, what’s happened to me, what I sense, etc, and I like to tell the same story from different angles. Mental illness, feminism and female empowerment, sex and violence and death, and love, are the most common themes in my writing.

Who are your favourite writers? How have they influenced you not just in your writing, but in your life?

My favourite writers are: Sylvia Plath, Jeffrey Eugenides, Angela Carter, Oscar Wilde, Anne Sexton, J.D.Salinger, and my friend Kaya Purchase-Ward.

I think Sylvia Plath was the first writer I discovered and really fell for. It sounds so stereotypical, but I was probably 13 or 14, going through that awkward adolescent stage where you think nobody understands you, and I read ‘The Bell Jar’, and was sucked straight into it. I found Jeffrey Eugenides through Amazon’s ‘Recommended for You’ - his imagery is amazing , and he’s alive, which a big plus for a famous writer. Anne Sexton was a confessional poet and friends with Sylvia Plath, so I discovered her through Wikipedia. And everybody’s read J.D.Salinger - show me a person who didn’t read ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ when they were about 15? I was disappointed with ‘The Catcher in the Rye’, my expectations were built up by other people bashing on about how great it is - but his short stories are some of my favourites.

Betty works on a poem with Kate Nash

I think Angela Carter has influenced me most in my life because she was a feminist, and that’s a big part of who I am. She wrote a collection of short fiction called ‘The Bloody Chamber’, where she put a feminist twist on old fairy tales: the ‘damsel in distress’ saves herself, the girl isn’t eaten by the wolf but has sex with him, etc. I like anybody who forefronts girls and makes them feel strong. Sylvia Plath was also a feminist, and you can see a power struggle between the sexes a lot through her poetry, and in her journals: she doesn’t just want to be a housewife, but she feels society is pressuring her into that role. Reading her journals was a real eye-opening experience for me. I’ve always idolized her and always felt inferior, wishing my writing could at least echo hers, but never reaching the mark: and then I read her journals, and realized she was just ‘a normal girl’, if you like, who got rejected too, and had all sorts of worries, and felt inferior herself. I think it gave me a bit more confidence as a writer, particularly a female writer.

What is the biggest and best journey you have ever taken in your life? You may interpret this question however you wish.

Oh gosh...I think the best journey I’ve ever taken in my life is when I decided I wanted to be a writer. I’ve always been writing something or other, but in March 2011, I met Kate Nash at her after school girls club, which she set up to encourage girls to get into music and songwriting. She asked me to read her one of my poems, so I read a poem called ‘Warpaint’, which uses metaphors of Jesus, Cerberus, Judas, and Mary Magdalene to talk about a failed friendship, and she told me how good I was and how I should go for it.

Then in the summer of 2012, my friend Eleanor heard about a local arts festival and made me sign up to read my poetry aloud, which was the first time I’ve ever done anything like that. I started to send my work off to magazines - including you! Sometimes I got published, most of the time I got rejected. I kept reading my poetry aloud, and then the ‘Poems for Pussy Riot’ anthology won an award, and Manchester Met University called me a ‘political poet’.

I haven’t been a ‘writer’ for as long as other people: I haven’t been published that much, I’ve been rejected a lot, and I’ve entered poetry competitions where I’ve lost - badly. But, I think, deciding to be a writer and go for it is one of the coolest things I’ve ever done.

Just for fun:

If you could only listen to one album and only one album for the rest of eternity, which album would it be and why? If you could force your worst enemy to listen to one album and only one album for the rest of eternity, which album would it be and why?

My album would have to be ‘Girl Talk’ by Kate Nash. Kate’s a feminist, and a great ambassador for women’s rights, and she definitely tries to empower girls. Not to mention she’s a brilliant songwriter. She went through a really bad year and poured her soul out onto the record, and it’s one of my favourites of all time. Kate doesn’t pretend to be somebody else, she’s isn’t some diva, she isn’t distant, and you can tell her songs really mean something to her. She’s a truly great inspiration for girls everywhere. Favourite songs? Conventional Girl, Free My Pussy, Underestimate the Girl

I’d probably make my enemy listen to ‘Girl Talk’ too, so it’d remind them of me and really bug them.

What is your favourite color and why?

I wear blue a lot, but I think my favourite colours are orange and silver. Orange is just such a happy colour. And silver is so fun. It’s too hard to pick! I definitely hate green. Why do people wear green?

Other than writing, what would you say are some of your favourite hobbies and pastimes?

I like blogging (which is basically writing!), I like Sims 2 and L.A.Noire, I like drawing and making art, I like singing and playing the ukulele,I like painting my nails, and I like baking. Sometimes when I’m really bored, I put black lipstick and sunglasses on and sing dramatically in front of my mirror, holding the hair dryer under my face so my hair goes big and puffy. I love Twitter. I don’t really go out much, but I like going to see my friend’s bands in tiny, crappy music clubs across Liverpool, where you can buy quite cheap vodka cokes.

And some final words:

Between the two issues of Some Weird Sin, which piece has been your absolute favourite? What one thing would you like to tell the author of that piece?

I can’t pick one piece! I liked Issue 2 the best, and my favourite pieces from that are: Genius Bar by Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz; and Snowflakes and Golf Balls from Heaven by Kellyn Yoder. I loved Genius Bar because you start reading and you’re like ‘huh a cute little poem about iPhones?’, and then the last two stanzas hit you and leave you standing there a bit breathless. I wish I’d written that poem. I remember reading it with my best friend Zoe, and we were both blown away at the ending, and it was a lovely moment to share with your friend. And I loved Kellyn’s fiction. The last paragraph was fantastic, because I related so much to it. I’d just like to thank them both for writing beautiful pieces and sharing them with us.

Finally, what advice can you give to all of the other young writers out there who are reading this? Or, perhaps, what is some advice that has been given to you along the way which you have held dearly?

Hm...one piece of advice I was given and have always adhered to is NEVER. THROW. ANYTHING. AWAY. EVER. You may start something and think ‘oh gosh, this is a load of crap’, but keep it. I keep everything I write, good or bad. Sometimes you’ll look over a bad poem you hate and one line will jump out, and you’ll use it for something great.

I’d say  read a lot, too. I’m not saying if you read five books an hour you’ll be the best writer in the world -  but I think reading helps. Read a lot of different pieces on a lot of different topics in a lot of different styles, it’ll help you grow as a writer.

Make sure you write at least a little bit of something every day.

Don’t be afraid to write about utterly mundane things that have happened to you.

And don’t think you won’t be good enough just because you’re a young writer. Don’t be scared to read at festivals or open mic nights, or send your work to publishers, or put in on a blog or Tumblr. I mean, it is scary at first, because your writing is so personal to you, but don’t be scared if you’re the youngest person there. You should not be intimidated because of your age, it does not determine whether you’re a good writer or not.

Follow Betty on Twitter: @TheGrrrlGang

A Call for Submission, Issue 3: Pay Homage

This summer we anticipate the release of Issue 3 with the theme of 'Pay Homage'. We need your submissions. Send us something about your admiration for one of your parents or perhaps sibling. Tell us about how much you appreciate your best friend. Maybe you just really love cupcakes and want to share it with the world. Maybe you watched Bob Feller throw a 100mph fastball (probably not because that would make you reallllllly old), we want to hear about it. Remember that time you rode your first roller coaster and fell in love? Or how about your first concert? We want to hear about it. Please try to avoid submitting works about writing--Ars Poetica gets old quick. But if you have something about how you're tired of hearing Robert Frost, we want to read it.

Submit your shorts stories, essays, poems, etc. (but no plays!!) now to someweirdsin27@gmail.com for consideration in Issue 3 of Some Weird Sin. We currently already have submissions from a handful of writers including Some Weird Sin veterans, Betty Doyle and Kelsey Phillis, as well as Taylor Mali.

An Interview with Megan Falley

I had the pleasure of meeting Megan Falley last fall when she kicked off a massive cross-country tour at Pen & Palette open mic in Columbus, Ohio. Her performance was great, her poetry was great, she is great. And she loves cats. At 24-years of age, Megan has become quite the accomplished poet, releasing her first full-length book, After the Witch Hunt, last year. She then quit her job and toured--her only means of support being whatever she was paid to do show and whatever she earned from the books and CDs she sold. The amazing thing? She made more money doing that than she would have at her job. Maybe sometimes you can make money doing this after all.

1. How did you become a poet? Or, if this is easier to answer, why are you a poet?

I was frustrated that there is only on word in the English Language for “dream.” That is why I became a poet.

2. Do you only write poetry or have you dabbled in other areas as well? Are there any particular genres or themes you tend find yourself gravitating towards?

In my book, After the Witch Hunt, I include some poetic prose in my fictional story “The Runaways.” The characters in that story, which use the aliases Alice and Wendy, come up often when I am writing prose. I have intentions of writing a novel or a collection of letters between the two. I rarely separate my more poetic, image-heavy voice when writing, so often things will often read as poetry even when they are not intended that way. I have a fat-crush on short stories as a form, would love to try a novel eventually, and my mom wants me to write for Lena Dunham so I can make some money some day and win a Golden Globe. Oh, moms.

3. How did you get into the poetry scene? You’re a fairly familiar face in the slam world; how do you think that happened?

I learned about spoken word when I attended my first slam ever in college, in 2006. Since then I’ve been competing, writing, submitting, and touring. I am also a vocal activist for women in the poetry scene. I suppose that helps!

4. A good writer is constantly finding new influences and inspiration. Who are some of your biggest influences? How have they changed from when you started writing to now?

I recently answered a similar question. Since I went through High School with no concept of spoken word or slam, my poetry influences came later. I grew up obsessed with Bob Dylan, Ani Difranco and Conor Oberst because of their incredible lyrics—because despite not having traditionally trained voices, they carved out a space for their lyrics. They have always been equal parts poets and musicians for me, even though I’ve never seen their work on the page. Some of my major influences also happen to be my good friends—right now two of my favorite poets are also my homegirls, Jeanann Verlee and Angel Nafis. It’s a blessing to be inspired by friends. It’s also a blessing to live in New York where everyone is dripping with talent.

5. Of all the poems you have written, which is your favourite or maybe means the most to you? Likewise, is there a particular piece you look at and can’t believe you wrote? Why?

One of my poems that means the most to me is one that I rarely perform. It’s called “Cinnamon and Sand” and is published at Muzzle. It’s most important to me because, after I performed it at the Nuyorican, the following story was later relayed to me: After hearing it, a woman said to a male friend she was there with “this poem makes me realized I’ve been abused.” The friend turned to her and said “this poem makes me realize I’ve abused someone.” That—that made me feel like I could hang up my hat, right there. (Though I won’t.)

6. Let’s talk about your new book, After the Witch Hunt. I’m going to be honest—I’m not really sure where my copy is (somewhere on my couch, I can tell you that but), so I haven’t read it all, but I have read some and I love what I’ve read. What can tell you about the background of this book? Where did it all come from and how did you finally get it published, especially at such a young age?

I lost this question in my couch. After I find it, I’ll certainly answer.

[Editor's note: Well played, Megan, well played...]

7. Now how about your tour you just completed. You quit your job to do that—that’s incredible and totally admirable. What was most enjoyable about your tour? Least enjoyable? Would you say there were any cities or venues that have stood out above all others? Or perhaps any poems or poets? I remember you praising Rachel Wiley’s “Buttons” after kicking off your tour in Columbus, and I must say, I’ve had the pleasure of hearing that poem twice, and it gave me goosebumps both times.

Thank you! There are too many incredible parts of tour to pick a most enjoyable facet. I thought that the solitary driving would be miserable, but I learned to enjoy my own company and the dens of my mind. I learned to value my time alone. I drove over 13,000 miles in 100 days and performed in over 30 cities in the US and Canada. I don’t know why I just explained my tour in numbers. Let me explain it in real things—the majesty of the Grand Canyon, the glitzy patriarchy of Las Vegas, the musicality of New Orleans, the fish mongers of Seattle, my family in California, the tent rocks of New Mexico, driving down Highway 1—so much, immeasurable beauty. I became more patriotic to experience the country in that way. I really can’t complain about a thing. I learned, I prospered, I am so fortunate—I’d be a real asshole to complain about that journey. (PS. I think Rachel’s incredible poem is called “Marble” ?)

[Editor's note: Megan is correct, it is "Marble" not "Buttons"! My bad!]

8. If you could only listen to one album and only one album for the rest of eternity, which album would it be and why? If you could force your worst enemy to listen to one album and only one album for the rest of eternity, which album would it be and why?

For the worst enemy, I was going to give a generic answer, like Creed or Ke$sha, but truthfully I would give my worst enemy either silence, to think about what they’ve done, or one of my favorite albums so that they could become a better person while listening to it. That feels important. So I guess I’d listen to someone who I’d learn something new from every time I listened to them. Maybe some Leonard Cohen? I’m not sure. Maybe I’d pick Lana Del Rey so I could just feel eternally sexy. Yes. Let’s go with Lana. If I can only listen to one album forever, let it be the one that makes me feel like a babe.

9. Other than writing, what would you say are some of your favourite hobbies and pastimes?

Thank you for this question. Often I need to be reminded that I am not only a writer. I am also (I think, at least) a great vegetarian chef. I love to cook, to me it is art for the tongue. I also love taking pictures, painting and other forms of visual creation, arts and crafts. I love to read, to swim in the ocean, to be in nature hiking. Travel is of course a passion of mine, I like to entertain guests, host people, and throw parties. I throw delicious parties. I make a mean white sangria. I am an animal rights activist, I would adopt all the puppies in the world if I could. I love to educate people about sexism, classism, racism, but I often end up crying while I do it. I adore going to the movies—I am pretty snobby about them, and also watching good television series (Six Feet Under, Dexter, The Big C, Mad Men being some of my favorites.) I enjoy a good yoga practice, massage, and going to Korean spas where I can take baths in the nude with a lot of other nakie-ladies. I am getting over my fear of museums. I’m also super into clothing and pretty dresses. I also love to redecorate and rearrange rooms. I’m also a complete workaholic, and few things give me joy I like getting dolled up. I like being a goof friend. I’m also a total workaholic—I like making to-do-lists and getting shit done. Almost nightly I get into bed and say, “I am so lucky.”  This question made me happy to remember all that.

10. What is the biggest and best journey you have ever taken in your life? You may interpret this question however you wish.

Although I’ve travelled to New Zealand, Ireland, and Israel, each of those trips being entirely wonderful, the best journey ever was my recent book tour. It was a journey for each of my senses. If you’re interested, I posted a pretty long entry about tour over here: http://meganfalley.tumblr.com/post/38441069832.

11. I’m going to assume you’ve read the first issue of the magazine (which I shouldn’t seeing as how I haven’t finished reading your book!). What are some general comments you have about the first issue? Which piece would you say stands out among the rest?

I think it’s wonderful that you are creating a space for local voices and documenting them alongside bigger names, like Taylor Mali and Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz (my fellow press-mates!)

12. Finally, what advice can you give to all of the young writers out there who are reading this?

·      Read. Writers who don’t read books are not actually writers.
·      Edit. Writers who don’t edit are not actually writers.
·      Okay, that was mean. What I’m saying is to be a decent writer you need to dismantle your ego a bit. Reading does this because it acknowledges that there will always be people more talented than you are, and you need to make them your teachers. You need to read as much as possible. You wouldn’t make a movie having never seen a film before. You need to study the craft to excel at it. The same for editing. You wouldn’t shoot a film with no cuts or edits. You have to make each scene perfect. To clip the unnecessary. You also have to seek advice, help, edits, critique from people you admire. Without these two simple steps, you won’t ever be any good. Ever. No exceptions.
·      Write as often as you can. I believe that “Inspiration is for amateurs.” You have to exercise the muscle (in your brain and your hand) so that when something you want to write about comes along, you aren’t afraid of it.
·      Live. Say “Yes” to things. Go out. Talk to people. Have adventures. Make connections. Take a different route. Do something different every day. Do things you are afraid of. Travel. Feel all the feelings. You need to have a life to have anything worthy to write about. There will be days cramped up in your house, but those should only come after having a life worth writing about.
·      Go to readings. If an out-of-town poet is featuring, go to see them. If they are leading a workshop, take it. Take as many workshops as you can. Buy their book. When you do all these steps and are ready to tour, you’ll be thankful someone did this for you. Poetry Karma. It’s real.
·      Just because someone is a professional poet doesn’t mean they’re automatically a great person absolved of all evils. Check in, don’t stay on a couch unless than person is vouched for, go with your gut, and be safe. Check this out, too: http://thelastnerve.org/brochure.pdf
·      Be nice. Say Thank You. Listen.

 

For more information about Megan, visit her website or tumblr. 

You can purchase her book, After the Witch Hunt, on Amazon. 

Megan is also looking to tour again; she can be contacted at meganfalley@gmail.com for booking information.

It's not too late to say Happy New Year, is it?

For the last three years I've said I would eat the sauerkraut
But haven't
Out of fear that it would taste like smells
And thus, induce vomit

But I'm tired of being fearful

Let's take a chance, a gamble

You and me, let's ride
Got nothing else left to lose these days.

Featured Writer: Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz

Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz is about as well-established a poet as you can get without having died first. She has five books of poetry to her name with a sixth one on the way this fall. She is also the author of Words in Your Face: A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Slam, a non-fiction book about the history of the poety slam in New York City, of which she has been a big part having founded the well-known NYC-Urbana Poetry Slam. Cristin has also been featured in numerous anthologies (both print and CD), published in several periodicals, and has written many essays and articles and a screenplay. She recently moved into the Amy Clampitt House near Lennox, MA for the Amy Clampitt Residency,  adding to her already long list of awards, which includes a National Endowment of the Arts Fellowship for Poetry. All of that said, Cristin is an incredibly humble woman who still sifts through the many badges of honour that are the rejections letters she receives and still submits her to work to small magazines like this one. Her poem, "Genius Bar", will be featured in the next issue of Some Weird Sin due out in February. We are incredibly honoured to be able to publish a piece by her.

First, some basics:

1. How did you get started in writing? In other words, what inspired you? One day you weren’t a writer and the next, you were—what changed?

My mother instilled in me a deep love of all kinds of writing. She had wanted to be a writer, but grew up in a different time and under much harder financial circumstances than I did (I’ve written a poem about it: “Mother”). I told my mom I wanted to be writer in the third grade, and it has stuck ever since.

However it terms of making the leap between wanting to BE a writer and feeling like I AM a writer was when I first got involved in the New York City Poetry Slam movement. I founded the NYC-Urbana Poetry Slam series when I was 19, and it was first experience of being treated as an adult in an artist’s community—for better or worse. I always tell young writers, if you want to learn how to be a great writer, then be an organizer! Start your own reading series or lit journal! See what it is like from the other side of the divide, and what they want and need from the artists with whom they are working. It is surprising and helpful and the lessons I learned then continue to guide me to this day! 

2. What would you say inspires you the most? Is your writing fueled purely by emotion, topical in nature, or are you just trying to tell a story?

I read almost exclusively nonfiction: nonfiction prose, nonfiction poetry, nonfiction graphic novels. I love hearing about true stories, and especially love hearing true stories from the people who experienced them first hand. Poets like Kevin Young, Bob Hicok, Jim Daniels, Denise Duhamel, Bethann Fennelly, James Hearst, Shanny Jean Maney, Mahogany Browne and Matt Cook have allowed me very intimate access to their lives through their poetry, unafraid to be funny or heartbreaking, heartened or crushed, beautiful or ugly depending on what was true for them in that moment.

When it comes to my own writing, my sole focus is on being as honest as possible about what is going on, and see where the poem wants to take me. I have unlocked so much insight into my own life through the process of writing poetry about it. And it is even more thrilled to see audiences react to that work—whether on the page or on the stage—and now that I am not alone in having a shitty time at an office holiday party (“At the Office Holiday Party”), or embarrass themselves dining with ex-paramours (“A Short History of UnusualFish”) or unbelievably feels twinges of hope in their battered heart after a bad break-up (“June”).

3. Who are some of your favourite writers? What do you like about them and how have they influenced your writing?

Oops! I answered this question early!

Now, let’s get a little harder:

4. You have had immense success with your writing, including five full-length poetry books, a non-fiction book on the history of poetry slams, a play, and a whole slew of awards and residencies. How have you done it? What do you feel has been the key to your success not just as a writer, but also as a person? Where/how do you feel you’ve been most successful?

Thank you for your very generous compliments about me and my career! What’s interesting about success if that I think from the outside it looks like a straight line going up—all of the projects you’ve done seem to snowball and help from a clear path to where you have ended up / where you are going.

But from the inside, success often just looks like chaos. For every grant or residency I’ve been awarded, there are dozens which have rejected me! Even more so with literary journals! And for every project that I’ve been able to push forward, there have been tons which died on the vine—unable to move forward because of lack of interest or support or both. 

Any success I’ve had has been a grateful, humbling surprise, and one I try to honor by working really hard to live up to the opportunity I’ve been given. And that to me is what I consider the area I’ve been most successful in: working really hard. You can’t control whether or not you have talent. You can’t control whether or not your work will be recognized or valued. But what you can control is how much work you put your art—both in terms of creating it and in terms of getting it out there—and that is where I try to focus my energy.

And the advice I always give to artists who are first starting out, or maybe have been doing it for a while and feel lost, is to really focus on what you want to do. So many artists base their career path on what they see other artists doing, and having those opportunities or following that game plan. But you should always ask yourself if that’s really the artistic life you want. For me, touring all the time is a possibility, but when I tour I can’t write. So I tour a lot less than I can (and maybe should!) tour, but it works for me because I leave the space for the work I want to do: the actual writing. 

There are many strategies to being a successful artist, and sometimes young artists spend so much time trying to knock off all the items on that to do list that they forget to enjoy the act of creating art. They lose site of the finish they actually want to cross. 

So that would  be my advice: figure out what you REALLY want out of creating art; build a life that supports THAT; work really hard; and try to honor every opportunity you are given by giving your all.

5. With everything you have accomplishment as a writer, how do you keep yourself going? In other words, what keeps you trying for more? Surely, at times you must think to yourself “What next?” I must say, though, I certainly get the impression that you are not someone who takes things for granted and always appreciates even the littlest of things, such as publication in our small, non-paying magazine. What would you say remains your biggest goal in life?

A woman writer (and perhaps more specifically a working class woman writer who uses humor in her work) I realize that the opportunities that are given to me—in terms of living the life I do, having the opportunities I have, writing the work I write and meeting the people I meet—simply did not exist for other generations of women like me, my own mother included. I deeply appreciate and am grateful for all the opportunities I am given and all the doors I am lucky enough to walk through.

When it comes to my writing, that is definitely in the background. That I am lucky enough to have a platform where I can share my story and having other people engage with it. What a gift! 

In terms of my poetry, it is all autobiographical, so as life unfolds, there are always new things to write about! And the poets I’ve loved the most are the ones who have allowed me access to the full spectrum of their life: the happy years and the lean years, the bright and the dark. I try to do that with my own work, being as honest as possible and recording everything.

6. Slam poetry is becoming a legitimate form of entertainment with multiple open mics in pretty much every major city across the nation. How do you feel this has impacted poetry, both positively and negatively? Having been in the slam scene for many years, even founding one of the most well-known open mics, how has it changed since you first discovered it?

The year my book, Words In Your Face (my history of the poetry slam movement) came out, I did an interview with the Best American Poetry blog about slam and its impact, including its impact on me personally. You can read the full interview here, but I want to pull a quote from it which still holds true for me to this day:

The first Poetry Slam held in NYC happened in the late 1980s; in the nearly two decades since, the scene has changed a lot. My book is actually broken down into three distinct Waves, described as "times when the attention paid to the slam surged or waned, when certain styles of poetry were favored or discouraged, when certain factions within the community got along or were at one another’s throats." Additionally, the opportunities and projects that the slam attracted, and the type of people who might make up the audience have all wildly vacillated over slam's long history.

One of the more interesting end products (to me, at least) of this constant shifting is that poets in the slam always worry that something -- a style, a project, a poet -- will become so dominant that it will kill the scene, but it never does. Ranting hipsters, freestyle rappers, bohemian drifters, proto-comedians, mystical shamans and gothy punks have all had their time at the top of the slam food chain, but in the end, something different always comes along and challenges the poets to try something new.

Having been in slam for nearly a decade myself, this is the thing that keeps me coming back: what is going to hit next? who is the voice that I never saw coming? what poem is going to break my heart tonight?

7. As you know, the theme for this next issue is ‘Unconditional Love”. What would you say is the single greatest act or instance of unconditional love you have ever seen or experienced?

Wow! What a great question! I suppose as you get older, and your friends and siblings start having their own kids, it is a real trip to reflect back on the relationship you have with your parents. My mother and I have a very special relationship that isn’t always cute or easy—one of my nicknames for her is “Prickly Mo” because she can be really barbed sometimes!—but which is always a touchstone for me in terms of love. 

And just for fun:

8. If you could only listen to one album and only one album for the rest of eternity, which album would it be and why?

You know, I rely heavily on others to introduce me to good music. So I would likely ask one of my savvier pals to create a mix CD for me—knowing that it would be one that I’d have to listen to for eternity—and trust they’d know what they were doing! 

9. If you could force your worst enemy to listen to one album and only one album for the rest of eternity, which album would it be and why?

Probably be the one rap song I did in my entire life. It’s called “Secret Levels” and it was recorded in one night with two other NYC poets who probably should remain nameless. I rap about video games in it. And sing the hook: “Hey baby! You gotta hit A-A-B!” I would force my enemy to listen to just that song, again and again. It would torture because it is terrible song—but it is AWESOME in its terribleness. And that would be their bitter pill to swallow! 

10. What is your favourite colour and why?

Burgundy. I wear burgundy so much that my friend, poet Anis Mogjani, once though a woman who looked nothing like me and was walking a dog that looked nothing like my dog, was me simply because she was decked out in a burgundy track suit.

11. Just because it’s the holiday season, what is the best gift you have ever received?

Man, that’s a tough question! I have a lot of really incredible friend and family who know just how to make my heart blossom. If we are looking at a really broad vision of gifts, I would say the greatest gift I’ve received so far is that night that the NYC slam community came together for the Bowery Poetry Club book release of Words In Your Face. Twenty years worth of slam poets all in the same room, all sharing their work and their stories. It was the most magical nights of my life.

But if we are talking literal gifts, than I just got a really rad one for my most recent birthday. A friend who knew how much I loved Scrabble got me a vintage Franklin Mint gold Scrabble set. It comes with gold letters, gold racks, gold inlay board, velvet platforms for the racks and its own wooden pedestal. It is beautiful and without a doubt that nicest thing I own.

And some final words:

12. What is some advice you could pass on to all of our readers and, especially, the young writers out there?

I already shared some advice above, but I will add this. Read, read, read. Read work you LOVE. And then tell other people about it. Tell the writer about it too! Writing is a solitary act, but the writing community is a family. Support it! 

For more about Cristin:

Website, which features information on all of her books and where to buy them

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NEA Podcast

Bowery Poetry Club book release of Words In Your Face