1. What
are you working on?
I am currently developing a short-story collection that centers
on life in Israel. For
example, the story of a young Jerusalemite who desperately wishes to
better his life and immigrate to New York City (an excerpt from
"Escape" - http://tinyurl.com/kmu2mbn);
the unfolding friendship of two teens, a girl from Tel Aviv and a boy living in
a West Bank settlement, and sheds light on the differences between these two
communities and ideologies (an excerpt from “Not That Far From Tel Aviv” - http://tinyurl.com/na4wmda); and a
memoir-based account of the recent war between Israel and Gaza, sketching out
my experiences, impressions, and observations (excerpt from “Summer Notes” - http://tinyurl.com/olgffla).
As
an Israeli-American writer, my
homeland’s multifaceted reality evokes in me a sense of deep concern; my
writing is the reply.
2. How
does your work differ from others of its genre?
With background in visual arts, I cannot quite relate to the concept of
genre. In fact, artists are encouraged to mix various media. Like wise, though
I think of my literary work as fiction, I tend to blend in non-fiction details
and stories, some poetry, and more. So mine might be a mixed genre, if you
will.
3. Why
do you write what you do?
Because nobody else is doing it, and I believe those stories—these
particular viewpoints—need to be expressed. But more specifically, I have no
choice but to put in words the narratives and characters that keep knocking on
the inside of my brain, demanding I channel them into the world, and won’t
leave me alone until I give them life.
4. How
does your writing process work?
Often the seed for a piece is based on personal experience, or a few
experiences weaved together, and sometimes it starts with an issue that bothers
me. For example, the treatment of African refugees in Israel, which resulted in
my short story, “Africans, White City, and a Pint of Guinness” (an excerpt from
the story - http://tinyurl.com/kot9zpl)
Once the seed has been planted in
my mind, it takes some germination—days, weeks, months, or even years—for it to
have a voice strong enough to activate the creative juices that produce a first
draft.
5. So
now I tag other writers:
I met Meg Winikates in a local writing group, and although I am not a
huge fan of Young Adult literature, I fell in love with her remarkably gripping
dragon story, so
beautifully executed I had the movie playing in my head as I was reading it.
Meg is a
freelance writer and museum educator who majored in English Literature and
Language at Harvard University. She writes poetry and fiction and contributes
to Brain Popcorn, a blog
on interdisciplinary education, as well as to the Peabody Essex Museum blog, Connected. In
her current project, Palettes of
Light, Meg collaborates with photographer Michele Morris, featuring
photographs paired with poems, written specifically for the image. One of
these photo/poem pairings is an entry in this year's Venice Arts gala gallery
show. To learn more about Meg and her writing, please visit: www.mwinikates.com
Kayleigh Shoen and I share two
courses at Emerson College this semester, and I quickly realized I should look
for her insightful comments and ideas during class; I often learn quite a bit
from her!
Kayleigh is an MFA candidate at Emerson
College, where she teaches composition in the First Year Writing Program and
nonfiction at EmersonWRITES. Her fiction has won Community Literary Awards in
her hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan, and has appeared in Bastards and Whores.
She blogs sporadically about her life at Kayleighsstuff.blogspot.com
and about her dining experiences at Gourmanding.blogspot.com