Fearless Confessions: An Interview with Sue William Silverman

Remember when I told you I’d read Fearless Confessions: A Writer’s Guide to Memoir while I was on vacation? Well, that reading helped me frame interview questions for the book’s author, Sue William Silverman, who joins us on the blog today for some Q&A.

Sue is a faculty advisor at the Vermont College of Fine Arts and the associate editor of the journal Fourth Genre: Explorations in Nonfiction. Her first book, Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You, received the AWP Award in Creative Nonfiction. She is also the author of Love Sick: One Woman’s Journey through Sexual Addiction (made into a Lifetime TV movie), and Hieroglyphics in Neon, a collection of poems.

Please welcome Sue William Silverman.

ERIKA DREIFUS (ED): In this book, you offer what may be most appropriately described as a “fearless” defense of memoir, taking on several of the criticisms that have been leveled at the genre in recent years. Which criticism distresses you most, and why? Which do you think may, in fact, hold at least some validity for memoir writers to consider as they craft their work?

SUE WILLIAM SILVERMAN (SWS): What most distresses me is when memoirs, especially those written by women, are labeled “confessional.” In effect, these critics are implying that women’s memoirs are nothing more than navel gazing, that they have no literary merit. I deliberately use the word “confessional” in my title, however, in order to redeem it from the media’s disparaging use of it. Women’s memoirs are just as important from a literary standpoint as memoirs written by men…and are as worthwhile as any other literary form for that matter, such as poetry and fiction.

In other words, when I write about recovering from incest or sexual addiction, I’m also writing about loss, alienation, identity. Aren’t these universal themes to which most anyone can relate? Aren’t these also social issues, part of what society struggles with on a daily basis—so not navel gazing at all. By casting light on my story, I’m hopefully helping others better understand their own.

But, is there some validity to this attack, you ask? Well, granted, if a memoir isn’t artistically crafted, isn’t metaphoric, yes, the book might not be universal. So that’s why Fearless Confessions focuses on how to craft your life narrative into art!

ED: In the book’s first appendix, you provide a terrific overview of subgenres of creative nonfiction: biography, autobiography, immersion, memoir, personal essay, meditative essay, and lyric essay. When I was an MFA student (in fiction), it seemed that virtually all the creative nonfiction students in my program were concentrating on memoir and personal essay. Why do you think creative nonfiction courses and programs tend to be dominated by these subgenres rather than others? As a teacher, how do you ensure that creative nonfiction students attend to multiple forms of the genre in their writing (and reading)?

SWS: I’m pleased you found that article, “The Meandering River,” helpful. Thank you.

I agree that most writing programs focus on memoir and personal essay. Why? Perhaps because the faculty itself feels more comfortable with those forms.

At Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA), where I teach in the low-residency MFA in Writing program, we recently hired a terrific writer, Robert Vivian, who published an amazing collection of meditative essays, Cold Snap as Yearning. So now we have a faculty member well equipped to teach the less narrative-driven—more image-drive—form of creative nonfiction. In short, when seeking out a writing program, it helps to look for one that has an aesthetically diverse faculty, one able to teach a range of creative nonfiction.

I also assign my students books that are representative of the various subgenres. Fearless Confessions, by the way, has a long creative nonfiction reading list. This list is also available on my Web site.

ED: Writing exercises appear often in this book. Please tell us about any other resources–books, Web sites, etc.–that you would recommend specifically for the exercises they offer memoir writers.

SWS: Sure, some Web sites that I think are particularly helpful are writingitreal.com; absolutewrite.com; writedirections.com; writersdigest.com; writing-world.com; writermag.com; bylinemag.com (ed. note: according to a note on its Web site, ByLine is ceasing publication). Another book that I find helpful is Tell it Slant, by Suzanne Paola and Brenda Miller.

ED: Your book takes the perspective that everyone has a story to tell. But we all know that publishing one’s told story can prove to be challenging. Your chapter on “Marketing Your Memoir” provides some wonderful overall advice and resources for those seeking publication. But you must also have some very specific insights grounded in your editorial responsibilities for the journal Fourth Genre. Could you please share with us a bit about how work is ultimately chosen for publication in Fourth Genre?

SWS: What I specifically like about Fourth Genre: Explorations in Nonfiction is the wide range of voices that we publish. We like to publish all the subgenres of creative nonfiction (mentioned above), and include as many different voices as possible.

But before you send out your work, be sure it’s really finished. Ask yourself: does every sentence sing? Is every sentence as beautifully written as possible? Have I developed my work metaphorically? Am I doing more than “merely” telling the story of what happened to me; am I also reflecting upon the past, so that, as a writer, I am now seeing the past in a new light? Proofread, of course, before submitting, and be sure there are no spelling or grammatical errors. It is difficult to get published. That’s why you want to submit your best possible work, a piece that has undergone multiple revisions.

But if you get rejected, keep trying! Don’t get discouraged. I still get rejection letters. Art is incredibly subjective. I’ve had an essay rejected by one journal, only to have it win a contest in another one! So never stop trying! Believe in yourself as a writer, as an artist.

ED: Anything else you’d like us to know?

SWS: I teach, as I mentioned, at the low-residency MFA in Writing program at the Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA). In addition to this two-year writing program, every summer, VCFA has a Postgraduate Writers’ Conference that lasts five days—and it’s five days of very intensive study in all the genres: creative nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and young adult literature. Just something to keep in mind. The conference is also a lot of fun! I wish all of you the very best as you pursue the writing of your own life narrative. Remember: all our voices are important!

For more information about Fearless Confessions, please visit the author’s Web site and/or view the video book trailer.

Follow-up on The Atlantic’s Latest Fiction Issue

Just wanted to follow-up on my earlier mention of The Atlantic‘s latest fiction issue and point you to some of the work I most enjoyed and am still thinking about. You can access each piece here.

–“The Laugh,” a story by Téa Obreht (see also the interview with Obreht)
–“Furlough,” a story by Alexi Zentner (see also the interview with Zentner)
–“Eyes on the Prize,” an essay by Alice Sebold adapted from The Best American Short Stories 2009.

Have you had a chance to read the issue yet? What impressed you? Please share, in comments (but do recall that I will be on the Internet only intermittently this week and therefore it may take some time for your moderated comment to appear).

The Wednesday Web Browser: Wells Tower, Dan Baum, and David Foster Wallace

The hype’s been everywhere (or so it seems), but it was this Fiction Writers Review piece on Wells Tower’s new story collection that really motivated me to attend a reading featuring Tower the other evening. Great event. Now, I must get the book.
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Speaking of hype–I’m sure plenty of you followed last week’s big online story about another online story: Dan Baum’s Twitter-based revelations of his association with the New Yorker. Here’s something a bit different: an interview with Baum, courtesy of The Renegade Writer, focusing on “writing for the big names – and the future of journalism.”
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And on a sad, yet inspiring note: check out the online home of a spring term Pomona College course, English 166: David Foster Wallace. The site includes a blog maintained by the course participants, as well as a link to the wiki that has emerged from it. An amazing resource for anyone interested in Wallace and his work – and, I think, for teachers of literature and writing.

Writing the Life Poetic: An Interview with Sage Cohen

A version of this interview appears in the May issue of The Practicing Writer, a free monthly newsletter for fictionists, poets, and writers of creative nonfiction.

WRITING THE LIFE POETIC: An Interview with Sage Cohen
by Erika Dreifus

Like many of you, I suspect, I’ve become acquainted with a number of talented, generous writers through the brave, (still-)new world of the Internet. Sage Cohen is one of these bright lights.

Sage is an award-winning poet with a BA from Brown University and an MA in creative writing from New York University. The author of the poetry collection Like the Heart, Like the World, Sage has published widely in journals and anthologies. She writes three monthly columns about the craft and business of writing and serves as Poetry Editor for VoiceCatcher 4. Co-curator of a monthly reading series at Barnes & Noble, she has taught and lectured about poetry at universities, hospitals, libraries and writing conferences as well as online.

I initially “met” Sage through her e-zine columns. Then, as I began to add poetry to my writing practice, I signed up for one of her online classes. Sage is also one of the best bloggers I know, truly bringing poetry into her prose. Although she’s currently very busy with multiple commitments (including her joyful, if sleep-deprived, mothering of an infant son), Sage was gracious enough to respond to questions prompted by my reading of her new book, Writing the Life Poetic (Writer’s Digest Books). Please welcome Sage Cohen!

ERIKA DREIFUS (ED): Sage, as I read Writing the Life Poetic, I was impressed by the wealth of information it provides; the variety of its “Try This!” suggestions; and its wonderfully conversational and generous tone. I imagine these qualities will appeal to a broad readership, but I’m wondering, too, whom you envision as the book’s target audience.

SAGE COHEN (SC): My goal was that this book: serve people who are already writing poetry and want to deepen or invigorate their practice; invite people into poetry who have felt intimidated by or confused about poetry; and support teachers and other ambassadors in generating excitement about poetry. Most importantly, I wanted everyone and anyone who picked up this book to be assured that poetry is available to them if they want it.

ED: The book jacket notes the important truth that “[y]ou don’t need an advanced degree to reap the rewards of a rich poetic life,” but you do, in fact, hold a graduate degree in writing. Please share with us what motivated you to pursue this degree – what you hoped to gain from that experience – and how it has affected your writing practice in the years since.

SC: I had a daily poetry practice starting at age 14. It was something I did without much self- consciousness…something I did to stay alive…like breathing. At age 23, it occurred to me that if I was writing and reading poetry every day, maybe I was a poet. Stumbling upon (and claiming) this identity was a pivotal moment in my life. At the time of this revelation, I was in a corporate job where I was having existential angst about not believing in the mission of my employer–so much so that I was having anxiety attacks. In contrast, the one place I felt certain I belonged was in the realm of poetry.

When I applied to two graduate programs just a few months after this revelation, what I hoped to gain was time. Two years to immerse myself in poetry seemed like the greatest possible wealth. The deal I made with myself was this: if either school accepted me and gave me money to attend, I’d go. NYU accepted me, gave me a full scholarship and a $10,000 per year stipend. I was overjoyed; I went.

My experience at NYU was life-transforming in so many ways. As planned, I completely submerged myself in “the life poetic” for two glorious years in which I ate, breathed, slept and bathed poetry. I loved being jumbled about in the poetic mosh pit of New York City, with access to riches of poetry, music, art and food. Every pore tingled with receptivity to language and image.

I’d say that the most significant gift from that time was having the opportunity to discover my own rhythms–in both writing and living. With my time largely unstructured and a stippling of classes in a few afternoons and evenings, I learned when I write best, when I sleep best, how to keep my inspiration well full, how to balance good health with a wild imagination. In short, I learned how to cultivate not just my craft, but my LIFE. With that first tenuous foothold into a life of poetry, I had the confidence to keep moving toward what I loved most….and the trust that it was within reach.

ED: In the section titled “The Starving Artist Has Left the Building: On Poetry and Prosperity,” you advise readers: “Don’t expect to make a living writing poetry,” and you share the fact that you have a marketing communications writing business that supports your creative writing practice. You also note that many poets teach, and “[o]thers feel that they must do work for money that does not engage their creative mind at all.” How did you discover/realize what would work for you, and what advice do you have for poets and writers seeking to find their own paths to jobs/careers that can support their creative writing?

SC: I must confess that I have since reconsidered that statement, which may be the only “can’t do” prophecy of the entire book. Today, I am far more interested in how one DOES make a living writing poetry. For example, it’s a very slight perspective shift to consider my marketing communications business as a part of my creative process–because the income it generates has funded my creative writing life. Thus, I’m now going to say the exact opposite of what I said in my book: “Expect to make a living writing poetry!” The things we expect are far more likely to happen…

My own employment path was unplanned, somewhat haphazard and in the end quite fortuitous. In summary, I just kept trying work that I thought might fit until I found a direction that actually did. As I mentioned in the previous question, my time at NYU instilled in me a great value for managing my time my own way. So when I figured out that a freelance lifestyle would allow such possibilities, I was hooked. Even thirteen years later, there’s still an element of thrill (and gratitude) for me each time I am paid well to write.

What I’ve learned from my process is to value the “error” part of trial and error; each time we don’t get it just right, we get a little more information about ourselves that leads us a little closer to the sweet spot. What I would advise poets and writers is to experiment. Try writing jobs, mindless jobs, day jobs, night jobs, part-time, over-time–whatever it is that feels like it might be both financially and creatively nourishing. And don’t give up until you find a comfortable fit.

One word of warning: don’t use the challenges of the work day, whatever they may be, to excuse yourself from the glories of poetry that can be squeezed in the margins this very minute. My friend, colleague and mentor Christina Katz says (and is quoted in my book), “People don’t have time management issues. They have determination issues.” Anyone doing any job can find a way to stay creatively awake and write poems. My invitation to readers is: start finding a way to write poetry around whatever work you’re doing today. You can always improve your process and circumstances along the way.

ED: This book contains a number of remarkable poems: Ted Kooser, Rebecca McClanahan, and Sharon Olds are just a few of the bylines readers will recognize. You’ve also managed to incorporate – without sounding didactic – a number of craft tips from other poets. For instance, at one point you note that “Robert Bly once insisted that if there aren’t at least three repeating sounds in every line of a poem, it’s not a poem,” and then you encourage your readers to “Write a poem that would make Bly proud.” Recognizing that elsewhere in the book you also encourage readers to consider a diversity of approaches, even conflicting ones, what are some other craft-related suggestions from poets and teachers that you’ve embraced?

SC: I think that our most important learning about the craft of poetry comes from reading poems. And this learning is less conscious/thinking than absorbed. Every poem I have ever read has imprinted in me some new craft possibility…In this way, poems are like fun-houses that open door upon door upon door. There is truly no end to the discovery adventure, as long as we keep turning the page.

Of course, there is so much fabulous wisdom out there about ways to tap into the poetry moving through us–and then hone it to a shine. Natalie Goldberg’sWild Mind was my primary teacher in the poetry-generation process in my early 20’s. Inspired by Goldberg’s example and approach to getting out of our own way and into our flow, I devoted myself to a daily freewriting practice for most of my San Francisco years (which spanned a decade). Now I can often drop into that loose and unedited space without the freewriting because my mind and body have learned how to go there. I’d encourage anyone who is stuck or feeling unsure of what their material might be to stop thinking and start writing!

ED: At one point in the book, you mention that you have an literary agent. Since I’m a Sage fan and have followed with particular interest your ongoing column, “The Articulate Conception,” in The Writer Mama e-zine, I was under the impression that Writing the Life Poetic came into being without an agent. Does this mean that you have another book in progress, and if so, please tell us about it!

SC: That’s a really good point, Erika! Now that you mention it, I realize that I forgot to mention the agent acquisition step in my most recent column. I think the fact that this is an afterthought belies the nature of this relationship for this particular book. I pitched Writing the Life Poetic directly to Jane Friedman, Editorial Director at Writer’s Digest Books, and she accepted. With book deal in hand, I interviewed a few agents and chose the fabulous Marilyn Allen. Marilyn worked with me to review and refine the contract. So my agent relationship in this case came in the final stages of the book deal.

I have about five other book ideas simmering, and will consider pitching again once my multi-media twins *Writing the Life Poetic” and my son Theo are a little more established and allowing me to sleep through the night!

ED: Anything else you care to share with us, Sage?

SC: Yes! I believe that for many of us, poetry is more powerful and more possible in community. So I’ve created a number of ways to keep a dialogue going with poets and writers everywhere. You can join in the Writing the Life Poetic conversation at my blog, http://www.writingthelifepoetic.typepad.com.

I’m also getting ready to launch the very first issue of the Writing The Life Poetic Zine, a free monthly publication featuring the panoramic wisdom of ten Portland poets. The zine offers writing prompts, publishing markets, interviews, wisdom and tips about cultivating a writing life and community, and more! If you’d like to receive a monthly muse infusion, just visit http://writingthelifepoetic.typepad.com/ and enter your email in the top right box where it says “Sign up for our email newsletter.”

For an in-person savoring of the life poetic, you can join me at one of my upcoming appearances and book celebrations. (All events currently on the calendar are in Oregon. I’m in the process of planning events in San Francisco, Seattle, New York and Philadelphia. Those dates will appear here once they’re scheduled.) And finally, feel free contact me directly at sage(at)writingthelifepoetic(dot)com.

Thanks so much for having me, Erika. I appreciate your provocative questions and your insightful reading of Writing the Life Poetic! Wishing you and your readers an inspired journey!

ED: Thank you so much, Sage!

(c) 2009 Erika Dreifus

The Wednesday Web Browser: Poets & Writers Edition

A couple of days ago I pointed you to the classifieds in the May/June issue of Poets & Writers magazine. Today, I’m going to spotlight some articles the magazine has made available online.

–In a special section on literary journals, Sandra Beasley writes about the evolution of online journals.
–The super “Agents and Editors” series continues, this time with Jofie Ferrari-Adler speaking with agents Maria Massie, Jim Rutman, Anna Stein, and Peter Steinberg.
–Kevin Larimer updates us on small presses and lit mags.

There’s plenty of great content in the print issue, too, including Mary Gannon’s profile of Jay McInerney. Since I encountered resistance from some fiction workshop-mates when I wrote stories (in 2002) with connections to the attacks of September 11, 2001, I particularly appreciated this snippet: “And, as he did by using the second person in his debut, in The Good Life McInerney took a risk by writing about New York City in the immediate aftermath of September 11, despite advice from the late Norman Mailer to hold off ten years. ‘I was writing about the emotional texture of those three months afterwards,’ he says. ‘If I had waited, that would have faded for me.'”