I completed this interview for Hambidge in July 2012.
· What
are you writing?
I am writing Unreformed, my
teenage captivity narrative, which is set in the Dominican Republic at the
evangelical Christian reform school, Escuela Caribe, (also the setting of Jesus
Land by Julia Scheeres).
·
· What
inspired you to write your most recent work?
After my son was born, an event
that coincided with the War on Terror and abuses at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib,
I returned to writing. (They read everything I wrote in reform school- I didn't write anything personal for years). The Iraq War and 9/11 triggered many repressed memories. I had to make sense of not only what happened to my me and my friends at Escuela Caribe, but to understand how and why individuals can be coerced into hurting
others. I also had to face my worst memories in order to be a healthy parent.
·
How
did you come up with the title?
Writing helped me reform the individual I was
before I entered reform school.
·
What
books or people influenced your writing?
The Lucifer Effect by
Phillip Zimbardo, Help at Any Cost:
How the Troubled Teen Industry Cons Parents and Hurts Kids by Maia
Szalavitz, Jesus Land by Julia Scheeres, The Ticking Is the Bomb
by Nick Flynn, The Adderall Diaries by Stephen Elliott, The Road to
Whatever by Elliott Currie, To Be Human (essay) by Anouar Benmalek,
the poetry of Langston Hughes and T.S. Eliot, the music of Vic Chesnutt, particularly North
Star Deserter…and so much more….
· How
did you research your book?
I transcribed journals and diaries
from the time period about which I am writing, read the above books, and
reflected upon them, connecting them to my experiences. I have interviewed people I went to school
with.
· Did
you base any of your characters on real people?
Everything I have written is
based on actual events and people.
·
Do
you have any other books planned in the future?
I’d love to write a biography
of my friend and neighbor Vic Chesnutt. I would like to write about growing up
in the Mississippi Delta, where my family lived for seven generations.
· Which
of your stories or characters are your favorite? Do you dislike any of them?
I had a friend I call Crystal. She wasn’t raised
religious. She constantly challenged my
acceptance of dogma. I am trying to
learn to love all my characters, even those who did me harm.
·
What
advice can you give to young writers who want to publish their books?
Even if you have a full-time job, aim to
write every day (I’m a school librarian).
Revise. Revise. Revise. If you
are writing memoir, when you begin, focus on scenes/ memories, as opposed to a
chronological structure. Everything else will fall into place.(I learned this the hard way).
How did you hear about
Hambidge?
I wanted to attend a residency
in the South. Hambidge’s location, an
hour and a half from my front door, is ideal.
·
What made you decide to
come?
Initially I came because of its
proximity to Athens. I returned because
it truly is an amazing place. It’s
beautiful, the staff is amazing, the residents are all creating inspirational
art.
·
How has the experience affected
you or your work?
Uninterrupted time for
reflection cannot be overestimated. I love roaming the trails in between writing bouts.
· What
do you do when you’re not writing?
Spending time with my family, taking my dog
on runs or dancing to zumba with my girlfriends, reading, rocking out to one of
Athens’ 500+ bands.
· Do
you have any pets?
A Borador I adopted on my last Hambidge visit, named Mary Hambidge.
· Is
there a specific place in the house (or out of the house) that you like to
write?
My husband restored a ‘58 Mercury teardrop trailer….it’s my backyard
studio.
·
If
you could go anywhere in the whole world, either for a vacation or to live
there, where would you go?
The Dominican Republic
·
What
book are you reading right now?
I just finished Anna Jean Mayhew’s a Dry Grass in August and Erin Tocknell’s Confederate Streets. Both were written by Hambidge
residents---great reads! I also am
reading the Situation and the Story
by Vivian Gornick, Come On All You Ghosts
by Matthew Zapruder, and re-reading (Not
That You Asked) by Steve Almond.
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