Charlene Langfur–Interview

by Suzanna Anderson Creates

I think the most important task for a writer is to find their own voice and stick with it through thick and thin and be patient with it if it changes. Poetry takes time and patience and kindness. My view of life is that everything matters, and I try to explore this in my poems and essays and stories. How we can find ways to grow and get past difficulties. Coming of age in the 1960s and 1970s, I was taught by the confessional poet W.D. Snodgrass, who insisted I learn metrics. He emphasized the importance of knowing what I was breaking away from craft-wise, especially if I wrote free verse or in syllabic stress. The confessional poets began writing directly about the personal and about issues, civil rights, women’s rights, war and peace, most of all about the environment. I was a Syracuse University Graduate Writing Fellow at that time, and I am an organic gardener now, so I write about the land’s importance as much as possible. Adrienne Rich, one of the best contemporary poets of our time, tells us poetry is a dream of a common language for us all. I agree.

Charlene Langfur

Palm Desert, California

Check out Charlene’s work in the issues Volume 1, Issue 2 and Volume 3, Issue 1.

 

Cathy Whittaker–Interview

by Suzanna Anderson Creates

The Magnolia Review: Describe your creative space. Do you work at home, in public spaces, etc.?

Cathy Whittaker: I work at home in what once was my daughter’s bedroom – a tiny box room which I have converted to my office. It is tightly packed with books, untidy papers, and photographs stuck on the walls.

TMR: What kind of materials do you use? Do you write by hand or type? What is your favorite writing utensil?

CW: Usually I write in a notebook first, in pen/pencil, whatever I have to hand. I like to write in a very messy way – I don’t worry about spellings or anything else. I like to feel free to write anything. Often in the mess I find the beginnings of an idea.

TMR: What is your routine for writing?

CW: Once I have captured an idea, then I’m on the computer and working hard. I will get the first draft down and then I wait for a while before I start revising and revising. My routine is erratic – I work whenever I have some free hours. Often early evening and on weekends.

TMR: How long have you been writing? When did you start writing?

CW: I have been writing on and off since I was young. I lived in an isolated part of England – the Lake District – not much to do, so writing and reading took the place of friends. I didn’t take it very seriously until I was lucky enough to take a degree in Creative Writing at the University of Birmingham about 10 years ago. It gave me confidence and the desire to share my work with others.

TMR: Who is your intended, or ideal, audience? Who do you write for?

CW: Difficult question. I am not sure that I think about an audience when I first write something. Later when I send it out I think of my writer friends as my audience. But I would like my poems to appeal to people who wouldn’t ordinarily read poetry.

TMR: What inspires you to write? If you are blocked, what do you do?

CW: Sometimes it’s something I see that intrigues me. Other times an idea arrives when I am not even thinking about poetry – walking, driving, any type of housework (one good reason for doing it). It is as if by doing something else my mind wanders off. I also find music very good for finding ideas. If I am blocked I have to wait, be patient, until the ideas arrive again. It’s a bit like playing cat and mouse.

TMR: What other things do you do besides writing? Do you dance or play golf, etc.?

CW: I tutor in creative writing and find this very helpful. Keeps me thinking and constantly discovering new writers and ideas. I read a lot. I like looking at trees. Visiting America. Conversation. Friends. Family.

TMR: What is your favorite part of the creative process?

CW: The first time I get the idea and start writing – and know it’s going to work. That’s wonderful. When I am on a roll it’s exciting, dangerous (because often I don’t know where it’s going) and inspiring. It doesn’t happen that often, but when it does it makes it all worthwhile.

TMR: What is your advice to aspiring writers?

CW: Believe in yourself.  Read other poets. Attend workshops and writing groups. Enjoy it.

Check out Cathy’s work in the issue, Volume 3, Issue 1.

 

 

Arthur Davis–Interview

by Suzanna Anderson Creates

The Magnolia Review: Describe your creative space. Do you work at home, in public spaces, etc.?

Arthur Davis: My creative space is somewhere between my left ear and my right ear, and deep space.

I write from my laptop at home, late at night after work and on most weekends. When I am drafting a story I try and write 2000 words a day. I can do more, but if I do there is less there the next day to draw from.

At the end of the day I always leave something on the ‘table’ for my imagination to work with tomorrow.

TMR: What kind of materials do you use? Do you write by hand or type? What is your favorite writing utensil?

AD: My laptop.  I don’t make notes or write anything down.  I work through dialogue in my head until the character’s voices are clear and resonate.  If you can’t imagine a character saying something, neither can the reader.

TMR: What is your routine for writing?

AD: I make time to write 3 to 4 late evenings and always on weekends.  Even an hour a day is better than nothing.

TMR: How long have you been writing? When did you start writing?

AD: I have been writing on and off for many years.

However, starting around 1990, I wrote 11 novels over the next decade.

I came to short stories comparatively late. As a novelist many of my early stories were between 8,000 and 15,000 words.  I quickly learned that the market for stories in this range is limited, which led to many rewrites until I was comfortable in the 1500 to 5000, word range.

That retooling of my skill-set took over 2 years.

TMR: Who is your intended, or ideal, audience? Who do you write for?

AD: I don’t really have an intended, or ideal audience. I write to please and amuse myself.  Writing brings joy into my life, and I am delighted to share it with the widest audience.

I write horror, dark fantasy, slipstream, science fiction, speculative fiction, crime, epic adventure, magical realism as well as literary fiction and have no particular market.

You could suggest the best plot or idea or character to me, and I wouldn’t know what to do with it.

I’ve written about 140 short stories, and submitted almost 100 in the last 5 years. Since 2012 over seventy tales have been published in 50 online and print journals.  An additional 18 have been picked up as reprints. I was nominated for a Pushcart Prize and inclusion in a Best Mysteries yearly anthology. Eight stories were included in a quarterly, single author anthology, that came out in 2016.

TMR: What inspires you to write? If you are blocked, what do you do?

AD: I don’t actually relate to inspiration in the sense you are asking.

I see the characters as they move through my imagination. It’s as though you turned on television and watched a movie you never heard of. If the characters and plot are compelling, you will probably watch it through.  If not, you turn it off and walk away.

When I see characters move through space I watch and listen.  If I have any ‘skill’ it’s listening.

I believe if you give your characters time and space, they will tell you a story that you could never have imagined.

Many years ago I attended a book reading in New York City where John Gardner and another author were presenting their latest novels. There was a brief Q&A when the reading ended. One of the questions asked, one that you hear very often was, “where do you get the inspiration for your stories?” A woman in the audience added, “do either of you have a muse?”

I sat in the back of a crowded Barnes & Noble on Broadway and 82nd Street in Manhattan and listened to these successful authors. Neither had a muse. They didn’t believe such creatures existed. My experience was different.

When the muse speaks, I write. When the muse whispers, a story rarely finds its ending and remains incomplete and wanting. When the muse is strident, the imagery is overpowering and I record what unfolds, never knowing how the tale will end until the last paragraph reveals itself to me.

I do not choose what I see, the plot or narratives that lead me on. I accept the gift given, without question or judgment.

TMR: What other things do you do besides writing? Do you dance or play golf, etc.?

AD: I am a management consultant specializing in corporate planning and reorganization, and have been quoted in The New York Times, Crain’s New York Business and interviewed on New York TV News Channel 1. I have taught at The New School University, advised The New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission, advised Senator John McCain’s investigating committee on boxing reform, appeared as an expert witness on best practices before State Senator Roy Goodman’s New York State Commission on Corruption in Boxing, advised The Department of Homeland Security, National Protection and Programs Directorate and lecture on leadership skills to CEO’s and entrepreneurs.

When not working or writing, I am at the gym or speed-walking in Central Park or with friends or in museums, or attending lectures on most everything from science to modern art.

I volunteer for a number of causes.

I live and work in New York City.  It’s all here.

TMR: What is your favorite part of the creative process?

AD: Listening to my characters tell me their story.

I’ve been quite fortunate and am very grateful for the support I’ve received from readers and editors who have taken my efforts to heart.

My favorite is a quote from the editor of a Horror magazine in 2013:

“Final Comments: Freaking BRILLIANT. “The Unwelcome Guest,” is one of the most interesting and funny horror stories I’ve read while on staff. Wow! I loved your story. You had me enraptured through the whole second half. I didn’t even want to stop and edit until I’d made it to the end!

I actually laughed aloud during several parts. That’s hard to accomplish. (I have a reputation for being a stickler.) Fantastic, marvelous job!

This story was flawless! Wonderful work. Thank you so much for submitting and I highly encourage you to submit again if you ever find yourself writing horror.”

TMR: What is your advice to aspiring writers?

AD: Stop overthinking, and write at least 500 words every day.

Nothing will make sense until it is ready to make sense.

No magic here.

Check out Arthur’s work in the issue, Volume 3, Issue 1.

Issue 6 is on its way!

by Suzanna Anderson Creates

For the sixth issue of The Magnolia Review, 3 artists submitted 11 pieces of art and photography, 5 creative nonfiction writers submitted 6 creative nonfiction pieces, 40 fiction writers submitted 42 stories, and 52 poets submitted 169 poems.

The delayed issue will be available in October.

Updates for Issue 6 and Issue 7

by Suzanna Anderson Creates

We are wrapping up submissions for Issue 6. I hope to have it released by October. Thank you for your patience while I dealt with my personal emergencies this summer.

Issue 7 will be available January 15, 2018. We’ve changed our submission deadline to no longer having a deadline. We will read submissions year round. We will still have two issues a year, available on January 15 and July 15. The optional theme for Issue 7 is fire.

Dom Fonce–Interview

by Suzanna Anderson Creates

The Magnolia Review: Describe your creative space. Do you work at home, in public spaces, etc.?

Dom Fonce: Oddly enough, I write most of my best work at my university, Youngstown State. For me, coffee houses are too busy to focus and home is too comfortable to get moving. I’m lucky that YSU, like most universities in general, has an abundance of space to relax, focus, and work. Campus, to me, is the perfect mix of public liveliness and homey agreeableness to crank out work.

TMR: What kind of materials do you use? Do you write by hand or type? What is your favorite writing utensil?

DF: I’m new school. I rarely leave the house without my laptop. Somehow, I’ve even taught myself how to type without looking down at the keyboard. It’s not romantic, but using a laptop is the quickest way for me to save my work in at least two different places.

TMR: What is your routine for writing?

DF: When I first started taking writing seriously, I wrote, unwaveringly, 300 words a day for a year. I made it a routine to write every night. As a beginner, you have to work extra hard. Now I feel secure enough to write sporadically throughout the week whenever the urge hits me; however, I’ve made it a principle to read at least twice as often as I write. Letting what I’ve read marinate in my mind allows the inspiration to write exist in the first place.

TMR: How long have you been writing? When did you start writing?

DF: I’ve been writing since 2014, when I finally chose English as my major. Turkish writer, Elif Shafak, has discussed her childhood propensity to talk to imaginary friends, which is a similar experience that I had growing up. When I shut off my naturally running imagination to become more “adult,” I became deeply depressed. Creative writing, the creation of characters on the page, relieved this stress.

TMR: Who is your intended, or ideal, audience? Who do you write for?

DF: It depends on what medium I’m writing in. For instance, I see a tremendous opportunity in comics and prose to write for Young Adult and Middle Grade audiences. However, all of my poetry seems to be written for adults. If I could have my ideal career, I would model it after Neil Gaiman’s. He writes excellent work for children (like The Graveyard Book) and adults (like Sandman) equally.

TMR: What inspires you to write? If you are blocked, what do you do?

DF: If I’m stuck, I write about the writing process. For fun, I wrote my version of Wallace Stevens’s “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird” by replacing the blackbird with the image of a stork. I got stuck midway through and decided to compare the legs of the stork, that bends in complete opposition to the human’s, to the mind of a writer. I concluded, however, that the strange bend of the stork’s leg is natural, just as the bending of a writer’s mind is natural. There’s so many ways to reflect upon the sensation of writing, and the writing process, with its many hurdles, that there is no excuse to let writer’s block defeat you.

As for what inspires me, it is the aforementioned stress and depression that I feel when I do not release my built-up imagination; I have no choice.

TMR: What other things do you do besides writing? Do you dance or play golf, etc.?

DF: I’m trying my hand at vegetable gardening for the first time this spring/summer. I also enjoy lifting weights. I’m a big Browns, Buckeyes, and UFC fan. But mostly, I like having worthwhile conversations, whether it be on politics or philosophy or science or literature. Good conversation, in the long run, helps the writing.

TMR: What is your favorite part of the creative process?

DF: My favorite part of the creative process is getting my work accepted—especially if money is involved. Again, not very romantic, but essential if you take the craft seriously.

TMR: What is your advice to aspiring writers?

DF: Read, read, write. Find good workshop partners. Good, trustworthy friends are more beneficial to you than any glamorous opportunity involving strangers.

Check out Dom’s work in the upcoming issue, Volume 3, Issue 2.

Dom Fonce

by Suzanna Anderson Creates

Dom Fonce is an undergrad English major at Youngstown State University. He’s been published in fiction, poetry, comics, and journalism. Some of his work can be found at Calliope of the University of Mount Union, Penguin Review, the Jambar, and the forthcoming summer 2017 issue of 3Elements Review. Collaborated with Vincent Butka (penciller), Jared Burton (inker and colorist), and Kaleena Spackman (letterer).

The Book Harvest, Volume 3, Issue 2
Interview
Judge of The Magnolia Review Ink Award, Volume 4, Issue 2

Here, We Bury the Hearts, Book Release