Mud Season Review
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 […]
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 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 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? […]
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 […]
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” […]
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? […]
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 Featured Poet Mandy Shunnarah By Poetry Editor Jonah Meyer The poems are everywhere. I just try to be observant so I’ll notice them when they come knocking and can write them down before they go off to somewhere else. –Mandy Shunnarah What was it like growing up in Alabama as you did, […]
An Interview with Featured Artist Roger Camp By Art Editor Kristin LaFollette A French friend pointed out that I was a ‘flaneur,’ which the French define as ‘those who take advantage of a wanderer’s paradise: the streets of the city, filled with charming shops, stirring landmarks, and ephemeral encounters. –Roger Camp How did you become […]
An Interview with Lucy Zhang By Fiction Editor Ann Fisher I’ve seen warped trees at some national parks and they’ve always struck me. It’s like they’re saying “look what my will to live has done to me.” –Lucy Zhang How did the storyline for “Final Molt” come to you? I wanted to write a story […]
An Interview with Carolyn Pledge-Amaral by Creative Nonfiction Editor Suzanne Guess I’m intrigued with the idea of getting to know my characters and allowing them to tell their own story. –Carolyn Pledge-Amaral Some writers argue against using pop culture references because they can exclude readers who aren’t familiar with the references. On the flip side, […]
An Interview with Featured Artist Sarah-Jane Crowson By Kristin LaFollette “I love the way [collage art] lets us work with source material and the possibility it brings for transforming old mainstream narratives into something different and more contemporary.” — Sarah-Jane Crowson You mention your work is inspired by “fairy tales, nature, and Surrealism.” Talk about […]
An Interview with Laura Perkins by Madeline DeLuca The impending apocalypse gave me room to explore a more sentimental, tender story of what it means to love someone, how difficult it can be to give and receive love. I was especially interested in the love we think we’re not supposed to feel, a love that […]
An Interview with Suzanne Siteman by Creative Nonfiction Associate Editor Andrew Miller “I think the physical world is on all of our minds, we often just don’t know where to drill down, what to look at first. That’s our opportunity.” –Suzanne Siteman You expressed valid ecological concerns without over-sentimentalizing. Was that an active decision on […]
An Interview with Featured Poet Gospel Chinedu By Poetry Editor Jonah Meyer “When a story is told, there’s this weightlessness and freedom from within. Poetry is the medium by which I unweight myself from a whole lot happening in and around me.” –Gospel Chinedu Why do you write poetry? Writing, beyond the scope of being just […]
An Interview with Marcy Rae Henry by Jonah Meyer, Mud Season Review Poetry Editor Please tell us about your writing process. Do you have a specific or favored routine? A preferred time, setting, or place for your creation of poems? Who, what, when, or where tends to inspire you? Generally speaking, what does your revision […]
An Interview with Libby R. Horton by Andrew Miller, Mud Season Review Associate Creative Nonfiction Editor You have a Ph.D. in physical chemistry and an interest in creative writing. Have you pondered how to reconcile these two disparate fields? I’ve seen creative writing as orthogonal to my work as a scientist. It took me a […]
An Interview with Isa Lorenzo by Ann Fisher, Mud Season Review Fiction Co-Editor I had to search and search to find the event I think this story is based on— a tragedy that took place in 2009 in Ampatuan, Philippines, where the wife and sisters of the mayor were attempting to file Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu’s […]
An Interview with Featured Artist Richard Vyse by Kristin LaFollette, Mud Season Review Art Editor What inspired your Punctured Mindscapes series? What themes do these works represent? The Punctured Mindscapes series was created from my imagination. It is all about favorite shapes like the circle in a small intimate square that has dramatic impact, even […]
An Interview with Featured Artist Irina Tall by Kristin LaFollette, Mud Season Review Art Editor I draw sirens or self-portraits, although I think the siren herself is my self-portrait or who I want to be.” – Irina Tall Talk about the subjects in these drawings. Who are the people and creatures? What are their relationships? […]
An Interview with Ana Reisens by Mark Robinson, Mud Season Review Associate Poetry Editor The first, striking, thing about this collection is that each poem is titled with a female name. What inspired you to write a series of poems about different women? The idea for this collection began when I realized how profoundly disconnected […]