“My wish is that people will say this to themselves after reading my stories: “Someone understands. I am no longer alone.”
Blake Johnson
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Finding safety in a chaotic world
Category: Interviews
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The nature of memory and truth
“ …An absence, in this case the absence of love, could swallow a life—. “
Brenden Wolfe
“When I wrote these poems, I was clinking cup with my past and nodding at the future.”
Ernest Ogunyemi
“When I started exploring mark making rather than just color, my first focus, I applied paint with all kinds of objects.”
-Andrea Lewicki
“My poems want a better place, a better country, better lives.”
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A Conversation with Megan Saunders
Creative Nonfiction reader Suzanne Guess interviews writer Megan Saunders about the importance of creativity within personal narrative.
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An Interview with Jana LaChance
Jana LaChance is a working artist from a coastal town in southern New Hampshire. She earned a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA from Savannah College of Art and Design. Her art is inspired by the dichotomy of New England’s inconstant natural landscapes and the muted experiences of every day life. Her work has been exhibited in an assortment of galleries and printed in several publications.
Fiction editor Ann Fisher interviews Bari Lynn Hein about perspective and the writing process for “Curtain Call,” her story of resilience and healing in challenging times. Tell us about how “Curtain Call” came to being. “Curtain Call” had been in my head for some time. When the pandemic hit, I decided it was time […]
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Permission to Be Agitated
Poetry editor Malisa Garlieb interviews our featured poet Christine Butterworth-McDermott about her poems, exploring loss, transformation, and recovery.
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Where It All Began
Grier Martin and Elaine Pentaleri interview
Rebecca Starks, Danielle Thierry, Lauren Bender and Erin Post
As we transition to new editorial leadership, we invite previous Mud Season Review editors to share some of the journal’s early history, and the lessons learned about launching and growing a literary journal.
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You mention that your landscape work “depicts an apocalyptic world.” Can you talk a bit more about how you see this theme coming through in your work? I tend to work on my abstract paintings when I am in an emotional crisis. A lot of these feelings are in reaction to things I read about […]
Fiction Reader Josh Michael interviewed writer Iris Litt about her piece “Return or Exchange” which appears in Issue #50. Here is Iris’s tongue-in-cheek commentary about marriage and relationships. “Return or Exchange” is a tongue-in-cheek commentary about marriage and relationships, where future coupling has most, if not all, of the emotion taken out of it. […]
Nonfiction reader Sidra Ansari recently interviewed nonfiction writer Joumana Al Tallal about her piece “The Long Middle” which appears in Issue #51. Here is what Joumana has to say about love of one’s home country, loss, matters of the heart and being an Iraqi woman in America. We thought this was an intimate, thoughtful […]
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The Primal Nature of Humanity
Kristin LaFollette interviews
Austyn Sullivan
Art editor Kristin LaFollette recently had this exchange with Issue #50 featured artist Austyn Sullivan. Here’s what Austyn had to say about how the intersection between music and art in his life, what he likes about collage as an artistic medium, the influence of New Orleans on his work, and more…
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Stars, Luck and Hope
Abi Newhouse interviews
Rémy Ngamije
Nonfiction reader Abi Newhouse recently had this exchange with Issue #50 featured nonfiction writer Rémy Ngamije. Here’s what Rémy had to say about the structure of his essay, Namibia’s first literary magazine, his literary influences, and more…
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The World Won’t Wait
Aurora Nowak interviews
Joel Peckham
Poetry co-editor Aurora Nowak recently had this exchange with Issue #49 featured poet Joel Peckham. Here’s what Joel had to say about his experimentation with form, his literary influences, what he’s working on now, and more…
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Connection and Loss
Josh Michael interviews
Bill Bruce
Fiction reader Josh Michael recently had this exchange with Issue #49 featured fiction author Bill Bruce. Here’s what Bill had to say about his revision process, the inspiration for the characters in his story, what he’s working on now, and more…
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A Sense of Rhythm
Steve Lausier interviews
Jessica Watson
Interim nonfiction co-editor Steve Lausier recently had this exchange with Issue #49 featured nonfiction author Jessica Watson. Here’s what Jessica had to say about the value of participating in an MFA program, how music influences her writing, her literary influences, and more…
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Kristin LaFollette interviews
Jeffrey Heyne
Art editor Kristin LaFollette recently had this exchange with Issue #49 featured artist Jeffrey Heyne. Here’s what Jeffrey had to say about the origins of his “To Hunt a Moon” series, how his work in architecture influences his art, what it is like to work as an artist in Boston, and more…
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Molasses and then Fracture
Grier Martin interviews
Karthik Sethuraman
Poetry associate editor Grier Martin recently had this exchange with Issue #48 featured poet Karthik Sethuraman. Here’s what Karthik had to say about translating literature, the creation of his chapbook, his approach to editing, and more…
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The Complexity of Love
Kathrin Hutson interviews
Prisha Mehta
Fiction co-editor Kathrin Hutson recently had this exchange with Issue #48 fiction author Prisha Mehta. Here’s what Prisha had to say about the submission process, the revision process, her approach to narrative style, and more…
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A Spiritual Escapist
Kristin LaFollette interviews
John Chang
Art editor Kristin LaFollette recently had this exchange with Issue #48 featured artist John Chang. Here’s what John had to say about the spiritual power of calligraphy, navigating American and Chinese culture through art, the importance of mentors, and more…
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Long-Lasting Transformation
Aurora Nowak interviews
Nadia Alexis
Poetry co-editor Aurora Nowak recently had this exchange with Issue #47 featured poet Nadia Alexis. Here’s what Nadia had to say about how poetry can “give new language” to trauma and survival, how writing workshops can help to shape a piece, how photography informs her poetry, and more…
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An Often Contradictory Truth
Coty Poynter interviews
Joanna Greenberg
Nonfiction reader Coty Poynter recently had this exchange with Issue #48 featured nonfiction writer Joanna Greenberg. Here’s what Joanna had to say about the tightrope between fact and fiction, the challenge of writing about memory, how pursuing an MFA opened opportunities, and more…
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The Narrative of Childhood
Grace Safford interviews
Shane Inman
Fiction co-editor Grace Safford recently had this exchange with Issue #47 featured fiction writer Shane Inman. Here’s what Shane had to say about his inspiration for “Watchtower,” how his background in theater informs his writing, what he’s working on now, and more…
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