This story was written a very long time ago, perhaps 1994.  Naturally, I don't remember much about it.  Thinking retrospectively, I was exploring whether we deliberately make our lives, or the outcomes are already embedded into them at an earlier stage.  I was trying to address this dichotomy from a tender point of view, a love story that is worth everything to the characters, yet doomed in advance.

 

 

Many years ago I was working on a novel, and to keep it moving, I committed to spend at least an hour a day on it.  I have stuck with this since: my art projects, be it writing, music or something else, get at least an hour a day of my time.  In the recent years, as my life stabilized a bit, I was able to increase this daily allotment quite a bit.  I believe it’s productive to make these small agreements with oneself, not demanding too much, just something one can realistically commit to.  And it applies to any pursuit, not just the literary one.  The second trick: don't stay home and write all by yourself.  Go out and interact with other people, and other writers.  Find a group you can discuss your work with, either in real world or online.  I have been a member of the Guttery and the Moonlit Poetry Caravan for the last couple of years, and it has helped me tremendously on many levels.

 

 

I’ve been catching up on modern American poetry.  Currently reading “Book of My Nights” by Li-Young Lee, “Like the Heart, the World” by Sage Cohen,  “New Selected Poems” by Mark Strand, “The Man Suit” by Zachary Schomburg, “A Bellyful of Anarchy” by Rob Plath and “The End of the West” by Michael Dickman.  These are all lovely and inventive books I am enjoying profoundly.  A stack of ten more is awaiting its turn.

 

 

I can't say that my own writing has been tremendously influenced by anyone in particular.  I have always had a certain vision of writing and art in general, which, in many ways, has not changed since I started at the age of 14.  Later, reading certain authors confirmed that some of my intuitive approaches made sense, and helped me fine-tune my tools.  I can't point out just two or three, but I can muster a short list.  The fiction writers whose work resonates with me most are Hemingway, Chekhov, Cortazar, Kafka, Kundera, Bradbury.  Two of the contemporary writers I love are Kevin Brockmeier and Nicole Krauss.  Every one out of four Paul Auster books is amazing – “Timbuktu” is a must-read.  Each of these authors is very different, and there are many wonderful things one could say about each.  I think the core of it, to me, is presence of a genuine human encounter in the work, as well as a particular vision from which the narrative flows.  I like to see something new and unique in a book, whether it is a surreal twist in the plot, or to the contrary, a lucid hyper-realist outlook from a perspective that is new to me.  A touch of surprise and a spark of pure beauty is what it takes. Thanks again for asking me these very interesting questions – it was a most enjoyable discussion.