Tag: Emerge Journal

A Fevers of the Mind Quick-9 Interview with Jared Povanda

with Jared Povanda:

Q1: When did you start writing and first influences?

Jared: I’m a lifelong reader. My mother would read to my brother and me every night before bed, and her love of stories was infectious. There are so many early chapter books I could point to, but I was around 9 or 10 when I first started choosing my own books to read. The Warriors series by Erin Hunter, the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan, the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini. These books were wonderful teachers, and I remember writing my own stories by hand in small notebooks to try to capture a little of their magic. I also grew up in fandom. I won’t tell you what I wrote fanfic for, but without fan fiction and fan communities, I wouldn’t be writing today.

Q2: Who are your biggest influences today?

Jared: Every book I read influences me to some regard, but the authors I currently hold above all others are Donna Tartt, Diana Gabaldon, Maggie Stiefvater, and Krista & Becca Ritchie.

Q3: Any pivotal moment when you knew you wanted to be a writer?

Jared: I can’t think of any one flash-bang moment, but I do remember reading Twilight in the eighth grade and looking at Stephenie Meyer’s author photo, thinking, “I can do that.”

Q4: Who has helped you most with writing?

Jared: Oh, so many people. My parents, my teachers, the authors I read. My colleagues and peers now. My B.A. is in creative writing, so professors, friends, and classmates, too. It takes a village!

Q5: Where did you grow up and how did that influence your writing & have any travels away from home influence your work?

Jared: Upstate New York. I grew up in a log cabin in the woods, and I think my home is perfectly conducive to writing. Acres of land to play and explore. Animals at all times of the day. An unobstructed view of the moon and stars. There is nothing more peaceful than reading with the windows open and hearing the frogs droning down at the pond. My writing is lyric. Poetic. I’m incredibly tied to descriptions of the natural world, and I don’t do grit very well! I’m not an urbanite. Nature is all I’ve ever known.

Q6: What do you consider your most meaningful work you’ve done creatively so far?

Jared: My first book. I’ve written six, and even though none have been published, those hundreds of thousands of words have taught me so much about writing and myself. I was on a vacation with my family when I wrote “The End” at the bottom of my very first novel. I cried. That whole day was one big celebration!

Q7: Favorite activities to relax?

Jared: Reading, obviously, but I also love music. I can’t write without music. I don’t think I could exist without music. I love watching competition television (Big Brother, The Amazing Race, American Idol, etc), the Food Network, HGTV, The Game Show Network…I’m 86 trapped in a 26 year old body. I’m also big into anime. Into fandom, as I said. I get lost in Tumblr and Pinterest, and I have no shame admitting it.

Q8: What is a favorite line/stanza from a poem of yours or others?

Jared: If I think too hard about this question, I’ll never answer it! The first line that came to mind is, “Where does the snow come from? Can you say my name?” from my story “Endless Cycles” published by Emerge Journal. This is a story about depression. Of loving within depression. Of being worthy of love and affection within depression. This story means a lot to me, and when I wrote that line to conclude the piece, I knew I wouldn’t have to edit it. It said all I wanted to say.

Q9: Any recent or forthcoming projects that you’d like to promote?

Jared: Recently, my story “We Wanted to Sing it from the Light” won Versification’s Fierce Flash contest, and my story, “Hot Blood, Cold Snow” was nominated for Best of the Net 2021 by Wrongdoing Magazine. Two huge accomplishments in my book!

At the time of writing this, I have an essay forthcoming at Emerge Journal (my nonfiction debut at that journal) and a poem about Legolas and Aragorn releasing soon from The Daily Drunk Mag’s Lord of the Rings anthology edited by Josh Sippie. Super excited for both of these! I can only hope these pieces find their readers.

If you want to find out more about me, my published work, or the freelance editing services I offer, please visit me at jaredpovandawriting.wordpress.com or @JaredPovanda on Twitter. Thank you so much!


A Fevers of the Mind Quick-9 Interview with Charlotte Hamrick

with Charlotte Hamrick:

Bio: Charlotte Hamrick’s poetry, prose, and photography has been published in numerous online and print journals, recently including Emerge Journal, Flash Frontier, Love in the Time of Covid Chronicle, and New World Writing. She’s had nominations for the Pushcart Prize, Best Microfiction 2021, and was a Finalist for the 15th Glass Woman Prize and for Micro Madness 2020. She is Creative Nonfiction Editor for The Citron Review and reads flash fiction for Fractured Lit. She lives in New Orleans with her husband and a menagerie of rescued pets where she sometimes does things other than read and write.

Q1: When did you start writing and first influences?

Charlotte: I began writing consistently in 1997 when I was 40. My first influence was novelist Susan Wittig Albert who edited a quarterly print newsletter for women called Story Circle Network. It encouraged women to tell their stories and provided wonderful support and pro tips. My first published Creative Nonfiction and my first published poem was in SCN. Story Circle Network is now online and continues to be a fantastic resource that provides many opportunities for learning, teaching, and sharing women’s stories. Another influence was Poet and Editor Helen Losse who, at the time, was Editor of The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature. Helen was very supportive and helpful and she published my very first online submission and a few more thereafter.

Q2: Who are your biggest influences today?

Charlotte: I have more than one!
For poetry, definitely Dorianne Laux. Her poetry is gritty, real, and accessible. She goes for the heart and the gut and when you read her work you know exactly what she’s saying. That’s how I want my poetry to be: real and accessible. The same goes for Jericho Brown. Both of these poets are inspired and inspiring.

For CNF, Paul Crenshaw. Man, can he tell a story! I only wish I could command attention with my writing like he does. I admire his willingness to be vulnerable and his honesty. It makes me want to be more open in my own writing.

For Fiction, my dear friend Meagan Lucas who is a phenomenal fiction writer and a phenomenal listener! When I read Meagan’s prose I always learn something in addition to being immersed in her storytelling. I’ve learned a lot about character development from reading her.

Q3: Where did you grow up and how did that influence your writing? Have any travels away from home influence your work?

Charlotte: I was born in New Mexico where I lived until I was four. Then I lived in Ohio until I was nine. In fourth grade I went to four schools in four states – Ohio, North Carolina, New Mexico, and Mississippi. I finally landed in Mississippi until I moved to New Orleans at age 21 and I’ve been here since. All of the places I lived as a child definitely influenced my writing. The experiences and feelings of that time crop up in my writing frequently. It was a turbulent time and writing helps me remember and work through everything that happened.

Q4: What do you consider the most meaningful work you’ve done creatively so far?

Charlotte: All of my work is meaningful to me. I can’t point to one thing and say “That’s it!” The day to day practice of writing, thinking, creating with intention is meaningful to me.

Q5: Any pivotal moment when you knew you wanted to be a writer?

Charlotte: Nope. It really just grew on me in middle age which I think is a time when lots of people realize what’s really important in life and go for it.

Q6: Favorite activities to relax?

Charlotte: Watching British and Scandi crime drama, playing with my dogs, gardening, reading.

Q7: Do you have any recent or forthcoming projects you’d like to promote?

Charlotte: I have a Flash Fiction coming out any day in Love in the Time of Covid, a poem in the next issue of Emerge Journal, and a Flash Fiction coming out in October in Still: The Journal.

Q8: What is a favorite line/stanza from a poem of yours or others?

Charlotte:

From my poem about my mother, “One More Day”:

If I could, I’d give myself
one more day with you –
before the sickness, the doctors,
before the last days crept up
on us like a thief at the window.
Just a normal day of normal things,
bacon and eggs after a good night’s rest,
our low murmuring voices in conversation,
beckoning sunlight falling through the glass
door, shimmering the air.

Q9: Who has helped you most with writing?

Charlotte: There have been several over the years but to name a few: Meagan Lucas, Tara Isabel Zambrano, Matt Dennison, Michelle Elvy, Sam Rasnake and I thank them all!

Links:

2 poems by Charlotte Hamrick : Shelter in Place & Swaddling the Beast

3 New poems from Charlotte Hamrick: Holding On, Head Above Water, It is what it is

https://mockingheartreview.com/archives/volume-1-issue-3/charlotte-hamrick/

https://barrenmagazine.com/author/charlotte-hamrick/

http://www.literaryorphans.org/playdb/another-poem-moon-charlotte-hamrick/

https://lunaspeaksblog.com/2019/04/29/interview-charlotte-hamrick/

https://isacoustic.com/2019/10/17/person-charlotte-hamrick-one-poem/

https://thepoetryquestion.com/2019/09/08/tpq5-charlotte-hamrick/

https://nightingaleandsparrow.com/charlotte-hamrick/

http://fictionaut.com/stories/charlotte-hamrick/another-poem-about-the-moon

Bio: Charlotte Hamrick’s poetry, prose, and photography has been published in numerous online and print journals, recently including Emerge Journal, Flash Frontier, Love in the Time of Covid Chronicle, and New World Writing. She’s had nominations for the Pushcart Prize, Best Microfiction 2021, and was a Finalist for the 15th Glass Woman Prize and for Micro Madness 2020. She is Creative Nonfiction Editor for The Citron Review and reads flash fiction for Fractured Lit. She lives in New Orleans with her husband and a menagerie of rescued pets where she sometimes does things other than read and write.