It’s not easy to objectify someone when you can relate to them on a human level. This is such an incredibly poignant and comic story—and I’m particularly drawn to the fact that the story exists entirely in one scene—so I want to start off by asking what inspired your choice(s) to write this story […]
When writing about parent-child relationships, it can be hard to know where to start. What made you decide to use shopping for your mother’s headstone as a launching point to explore your family dynamics? I’d been wanting to explore my family dynamics for some time, but I wasn’t sure where the “story” would begin […]
“An early teacher of mine suggested keeping a jar of words and lines that haven’t landed yet. The jar on my desk is overflowing.” Why do you write poetry? Poetry is a way for me to get worries out of my head—a way to confront what bothers me. Each time I finish a poem, […]
“My paintings…invite the view to interact with the works on their own terms, based on the encounters, memories or experiences…promoting a sense of shared humanity,” Fernanda Morales Tovar, Issue 73 Featured Artist One of the first things I noticed about this series is that while the setting in these paintings may be crucial to […]
“…although we cannot escape grief, grief and joy do not contradict each other. They can coexist, and thus we do not need to fear grief.” The first paragraph of your essay suggests a “nature-nurture” question: How much has your life been structured by your mother’s emotional state while pregnant compared to your upbringing? Both […]
“Every writer has one dog story in them and one water-imagery story in them, and this is my water story,” Jim Marino, author of “Becoming Water” Talk about your story and what inspired it? I tried writing an earlier story about this narrator, the story he tells Piper about running away from home […]
An Interview with Brad Shurmantine by Andrew Miller, Mud Season Review, Creative Nonfiction Editor This story is about my mother’s heroism. If I had been a teenager, I would have been telling her what to do and getting us all killed. “Mom! Chill! It’ll blow over!” –Brad Shurmantine At the beginning of “Inconceivable,” you and […]
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Learning to See the World in New Ways
An Interview with Valentina Luna by Ashley Hajimirsadeghi, Co-Editor-in-Chief of Mud Season Review I try to see color for what it really is, like a detective finding out all the details that come from a unique mixture. I experiment with mixing colors to evoke certain feelings and emotions. It’s not all about recreating what we see, […]
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To Write Truthfully
An Interview with William Hawkins By Joseph Linscott, Fiction Reader What is necessary, in a character, for a character to be dwelling on a comment made at a dinner in front of a writer? A shameless person wouldn’t be thinking about it. Anxieties are often manifestations of a desire to move in time, to “correct” […]
An Interview With Sherry Shahan by Jonah Meyer, Poetry Editor Having a molecule of an idea and watching it morph into a creature I no longer recognize. I’m an avid scribbler—everything from quirky lines heard in a song to snippets of an overheard conversation and odd images that randomly pop into my head. –Sherry Shahan […]
An Interview with Jill Quist by Leah Sackett, Mud Season Review “I was going to change my identity from being a good girl to being a bad girl. Bad girls got in trouble. Bad girls were infinitely more popular. Bad girls had boyfriends.” –Jill Quist What was the required amount of time and distance from […]
An Interview With Poet T.W. Sia by Jonah Meyer, Poetry Editor “To me, poems became the most concentrated reflections of our most prickly stories—the kind that we beg someone will be generous enough to listen to, but also the kind that makes us fear our own vulnerability.” –T.W. Sia Thank you, T.W., for taking […]
An Interview with DS Levy By Fiction Editor, Ann Fisher Also, teaching has made me a better reader and, I hope, a better writer, because I have to think about “how” the story works and then articulate that “how-ness” to other writers. I’ve always said, “If you want to learn, teach.” –DS Levy “Wild” touches […]
Interview with Lee Willett By Co-Editor-in-Chief Ashley Hajimirsadeghi “My ultimate ambition is to inspire individuals to engage with nature, appreciating its inherent beauty and fostering a deeper connection with their surroundings through my work.” –Lee Willett Each of these pieces combines different elements: landscape photographs, object photographs, distance, time, etc. Tell us a little about […]
An Interview with Megan Baffoe by Fiction Editor Madeline DeLuca “You must have conviction in your own humanity if you are to survive.” What gave you the idea to write this story? I was dwelling a lot on the concept of agency, and who gets to claim it. When someone seeks to control others, they […]
An Interview with Featured Artist Matthew Fertel By Kristin LaFollette “I am drawn to anything that stands out from its surroundings. Damaged cars, rusty metal, defaced surfaces, trash, blemishes, and other imperfections are all grist for the mill.” -Matthew Fertel You refer to the images in this portfolio as “abstract photographs.” Talk about what this […]
An Interview with Shawn Tran By Creative Nonfiction Associate Editor Lenore Weiss “It must’ve been a difficult decision to make, leaving behind the comfort and familiarity of home to start anew in a foreign land with a different language and culture.” What was your grandmother’s experience while fleeing a war-torn country as you explain in […]
An Interview With Featured Poet Ali Gipson by Jonah Meyer, Poetry Editor With my poetry, I strive to examine myself in terms of whom I have been, currently am, and will be, and how these versions of myself are influenced and impacted by the natural world around me. Why do you write poetry? […]
An Interview with Bri Craig by Poetry Editor, Jonah Meyer “Still, I think if you can effectively lay out a moment in time, you can create something that is far more visceral and relatable than trying to stay away from the stories within your own experience.” What are you currently reading? I am currently reading […]
An Interview with Featured Artist JC Alfier By Art Editor Kristin LaFollette “I look to create with the intention that the elements of the collage become a bit mysterious, reassembled into new narratives, intimate yet anonymous, and suggestive of emotional pathos.” As a collage artist myself, I’m curious: How did you become a collage artist? […]
An Interview with Catherine Parnell By Fiction Editor Ann Fisher “In our bay there is no such thing as a secret between us.” In previous work, you note that you often “listen to the music of language” around you to build a story. Was there a word song that sparked “Sisters of the Sacred Well” […]
Interview with Michelle Spokes by Creative Nonfiction Editor Andrew Miller “I’m trying out different versions of the fantasy so it feels right, returning to the beginning of a scene and then varying it. Writing it felt a little like reading a Choose Your Own Adventure book.” “New Girlfriend” is a segmented, primarily chronological essay, with […]
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Merging Genres, Worlds, and Languages
Interview with Helena Paoli By Joseph Linscott “When the genres merge, I see new life.” — Helena Paoli You write in your bio that you are exploring where “literary genres merge.” That word “merge” is so interesting to me. Whereas hybridity and experimental writing makes something else entirely out of these previous forms, you are […]
An Interview with Casey Harloe By Poetry Editor Jonah Meyer “Experiencing poetry of others makes me emboldened to let my guard down in writing even more, to be more trusting and personal.” –Casey Harloe Your poems we have published here—which I find outstanding, by the way—obviously appear to have been born from specific autobiographical […]
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The Body as Energy
An Interview with Featured Artist Danielle Benvenuto By Kristin LaFollette “I explore the beauty of the body and celebrate it as a gift to be honored. I think our bodies are the route to higher realms and overall, our general happiness.” -Danielle Benvenuto Your featured portfolio shows two different styles of artwork. Talk about these […]