This is The Next
Big Thing, an ever-expanding circle of writers answering the same (or
variations on the same) questions about their next writing project. I was
tagged by Donna Vorreyer, whose blog Put
Words Together. Make Meaning. should be in every writer's bookmark folder (or
favorites list or RSS feed or however you like to do these things). Donna's
answers to these questions can be found here:
but I highly
recommend taking the time to dig through the archives—you can thank me later.
Below, I answer
questions about my upcoming chapbook Dear
Turquoise, and after that you'll find links to the blogs of the writers who
have accepted my invitation to participate.
What is your working title of your book (or story)?
It's called Dear
Turquoise.
Where did the idea
come from for the book?
When I write it out, it sounds ridiculous. As a coping
mechanism while my cousin Turquoise was dying, I started writing epistolary
poems to/for her. At the time, I didn't know if they would amount to anything.
And I titled all of them "Dear Turquoise," because I couldn't think
clearly enough about them to work through titles.
What genre does your book fall under?
Poetry.
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Hunh. That's a good question. Turquoise was an actress,
and I honestly can't imagine anyone else playing her. She was truly unique—and
I mean that modifier. Too many people use "unique" to mean "different,"
but she was 100% original. My high school acting days are long behind me,
though, so I'd have to come up with someone…maybe Camryn Manheim? Without all
the upper-ear piercings.
What is the
one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Everything changes, and nothing does. OK, so that's not
really a synopsis, but hey. It's poetry. It doesn't take that long to read for
content.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? (if this applies - otherwise, make up another question to answer!)
It's coming out from Dancing Girl Press.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
Some of the poems came very quickly. Some of them had
been looking for the right grouping for a while. It didn't take long to pull
the manuscript together once the poems were there, though—I had the rough cut
ready in a single evening. If only everything went that smoothly!
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
There are so many great poems (and collections) about
grief. Donald Hall's Without is
probably my favorite, but I don't know if I'd compare it except to say that
they both deal with the process of grief rather than sticking to its aftermath.
The anticipation of grief, what do we call that? Pre-grieving?
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I don't know what inspired me to put these particular
poems together. The chapbook itself is 20 poems, a quarter of which are
"Dear Turquoise" poems. I have another 20 or so "Dear
Turquoise" poems that aren't in this chapbook, but will end up somewhere
else. She was, and remains, such an innate presence in my life that even now I
can't imagine the world without her—I can't imagine the very world I'm
currently living in. It baffles me to think that she isn't here anymore. As I was writing the poems, it occurred to me
that I was trying to prepare myself for that somehow. I wrote one or two poems
for her after she died, but the vast majority are poems of wrestling with that
failure of my imagination.
What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?
It's sad but not, I think, navel-gazingly so. Without
beauty, there's no loss, right? There's definitely an appreciation of the
beautiful in this chapbook.
So that's the story from me. Next week, you can check out
the posts of some of my writer friends:
Mary Harwood will be writing about getting her novel Deer Apples ready for an agent at her
new blog On Writing and Life.
Rebecca Longster will be answering questions about her
first novel Shadows Present at Renaissance Woman Ink.
Kathleen Clancy will be talking about Robbing the Dollhouse at her new blog Cartographers of Randomness.
Jessica Bane Robert, proprietress of the fabulous Barred
Owl Retreat, will be writing about her memoir and the retreat itself at the BOR website—it's an amazing creative retreat that
welcomes all sorts of artists and anyone else who needs a little restoration,
plus serves as a meeting space for various groups. I've held a couple of
workshops there (more to come!) and can't recommend it enough.
I'll post links to their answers as they get posted.
This is thrilling.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that word, "Baffling". It is the word I've been trying to recall for all these months of Turquoise's illness, dying, and the aftermath. Of course there are 100 other, more dreadful and grieving words that define my feelings, but the fact that this loss is so completely impossible and without explaination - I am left yet in disbelief. Not someone like her, so large in the lives of so many. I look forward to your poems, Cousin Ruth. (from Julie)
ReplyDeleteExcellent post, Ruth. Can't wait to read it. And thank you for your kind words!
ReplyDeleteThanks, all. xo
ReplyDelete