The Write Attention Podcast

Place, Peculiarity, & Persistence

Our guest co-host. Arianna Reiche, is a Bay Area-born writer based in London.
She is the author of the two-story chapbook Warden / Star (Tangerine Press), and At The End Of Every Day (Artia Books/Simon & Schuster).
She was also nominated for the 2020 Bridport Prize and the 2020 PANK Magazine Book Contest. She won first prize in Glimmer Train’s 2017 Fiction Open and Tupelo Quarterly’s 2021 Prose Prize. Her stories have appeared in Ambit Magazine, Joyland, The Mechanics’ Institute Review, Berlin’s SAND Journal, Feels Blind Literary, Lighthouse Press, and Popshot.
Her features have appeared in Art News, The Wall Street Journal, New Scientist, USA Today, The London Fashion Week Daily, Fest Magazine, Vogue International, and Vice. She also researches and lectures in interactive narrative and metafiction at City, University of London.
 
 
In Episode 7, Arianna Reiche joins us for a conversation about Place, Peculiarity, & Persistence. We discuss ways we are able to write about place and how that may challenge common conceptions, embracing strange and peculiar perspectives, persisting through life changes, and bearing the brutal bruises of editing. 
 
Questions
1. Place has a lot to do with my fiction - I just wrote a whole novel about the grounds of a theme park, and my next book is set in Berlin - but I often struggle with feeling that I've earned the right to write intimately about any given place. I find that I often sidestep writing about towns/cities/countries with real earnestness because of that, and instead adopt a lens of irony or eeriness. Or I just end up writing about the Bay Area, where I grew up, more than I probably truly want to, because no one can challenge me on my connection to it! Have you ever felt that conflict before? And more generally, how do you approach geography in your work
 
2. What does writing in earnest and with authenticity-one's OWN sense of what is authentic-look like? How do you capture it on the page to honor our own telling or to honor our truth and perspective? And how, if it all, does that challenge and expand the narratives we see present in certain spaces or among certain people?
 
3. How do you deal with feeling repelled by your own work during the editing process? It's something I've heard almost every writer I know talk about; I describe the feeling of opening the laptop for your third round of manuscript edits as poking a bruise. How do you stay enthusiastic about your own work when you're frankly just sick of looking at it?
 
 
Show Notes
1. At the End of Every Day by Arianna Reiche https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/At-the-End-of-Every-Day/Arianna-Reiche/9781668007945
2. Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez https://bookshop.org/p/books/our-share-of-night-mariana-enriquez/18486460 
3. The Age of Magic by Ben Okri https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-age-of-magic-ben-okri/20082895?ean=9781635422689 
4. The Ben Okri story about Istanbul is called “Dreaming of Byzantium” found in Prayer for the Living, https://bookshop.org/p/books/prayer-for-the-living-ben-okri/13693373?ean=9781617758638 
5. Irenosen Okojie, https://www.irenosenokojie.com/
6. Helen Oyeyemi, https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/59813/helen-oyeyemi/ 
7. CA Conrad - Poetry Rituals https://somaticpoetryexercises.blogspot.com/2018/08/somatic-poetry-rituals-basics-in-3-parts.html
8. Raymond Queneau, was part of the Oulipo group, a collection of writers and mathematicians who imposed rules on writing to increase creativity. More here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms/oulipo#:~:text=An%20acronym%20for%20Ouvroir%20de,and%20mathematician%20Fran%C3%A7ois%20Le%20Lionnais.
9. Kathy Winograd - https://kathrynwinograd.com/about/
10. La Maison Baldwin, https://www.lamaisonbaldwin.fr/ 
 

Support and Embodiment for the Writing Self **

Our guest co-host, Lauren Samblanet, is a hybrid writer who cross-pollinates with other forms of making & other makers of forms. Her first book, like a dog, is forthcoming from punctum books. Some of her writing has been published in A Shadow Map: An Anthology by Survivors of Sexual Assault,  FENCE, DREGINALD, entropy, bedfellows, The Tiny, Crab Fat Magazine, and A) GLIMPSE) OF). She is a graduate of Temple University's MFA program.
​Lauren is a teacher and facilitator. She offers creative process workshops and support for individuals and collaborators through reinventing creative process.
 
In Episode 6**, Lauren joins us for a conversation about Support and Embodiment for the Writing Self. We discuss ways community and support nourish our writing practice, the importance of embodiment and presence, and how support and taking care of the self are all ways of taking care of the writing.  
 
* *  This episode contains explicit content which may not be appropriate for younger listeners. 
 
Questions
When the off-season comes, the winter of writing where there's no inspiration and rest is needed, how do you rest as a writer? what seeds do you gather so spring will be plentiful and how do you nourish those seeds?
How do you grapple with feeling unproductive? What are some ways you write yourself out of a "funk"? Or when you don't know where to go or what happens next? 
How do you foster a sense of play in your creative practice?
What does the literature of pain and illness look like? what forms does it use? and related, how do we reform writing to hold our bodies more gently through pain/illness?.
 
Show Notes
Lauren’s Readings:
intro
like a dog soundscore **contains explicit content
like a dog **contains explicit content
on ghosting
1. Wintering by Katherine May: https://katherine-may.co.uk/wintering
2. @aquarius.mood on IG
3. Hurry Slowly podcast https://hurryslowly.co/
4. Esther Perel: https://www.estherperel.com/blog/eroticism-self-care-plan
5. Justine Dawson : https://www.justinedawson.com/
6. nycmidnight microfiction/flash fiction contest: https://www.nycmidnight.com/
7. Eb Sanders: https://www.instagram.com/ebs______/?hl=en
8. Ariana Reines https://www.arianareines.net/the-cow
9. Thich Nhat Hanh breathing exercise: https://tricycle.org/article/thich-nhat-hanh-suffering/
10. Aubrie Warner: https://www.instagram.com/acwarnerlit/?hl=en

Poetics, Performance, & Personhood

We welcome guest co-host, Míša Hejná, to The Write Attention podcast to discuss poetics, performance, and personhood.
Míša Hejná writes and performs poetry in Aarhus, Denmark.  She is also a member of Aarhus Women Write. Her work is primarily meditative and focuses on existential questions by combining the textual, the visual, and the aural.
In Episode 5, Míša captivates us with her readings and shares her questions and insights about performing visual poetry (yes, visual poetry), defining voice and style with rules, and the line between art and therapy. 
 
Questions
(How) can visual poetry be performed for an audience?
When is writing(/painting) for therapy art and not "just" therapy?
(How) can visual poetry be performed for an audience? 
How do you navigate the relationship between voice and the written word during performance? (For example, I can think of when I listen to slam poets sometimes and how the voice can sometimes get in the way of the poem, has this happened to you and, if so, how do you navigate that disconnect?)
 
Show Notes
Míša's Reading
A Seagull Shat on Me
As You Lay Daying
1. Aarhus Women Write
2. Always Burning Storytelling Series
3. Aarhus International Literature Festival on June 18th
4. Poetic Forms mentioned
Bop: https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-poetry/poetic-form-the-bop
Cascade: https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-poetry/poetic-form-cascade-poem
Descourt: https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-poetry/descort-poetic-form
Ballade: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms/ballade#:~:text=An%20Old%20French%20verse%20form,subsequent%20stanzas%20and%20the%20envoy.
Golden Shovels: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/articles/92023/introduction-586e948ad9af8
5. Who Says?: Mastering Point of View in Fiction by Lisa Zeidner: https://www.amazon.com/Who-Says-Mastering-Point-Fiction/dp/0393356116#:~:text=%22Lisa%20Zeidner%27s%20Who%20Says%3F%20is,students%2C%20writers%20and%20readers.%22
6. Classical English Style by Ward Farnsworth:  http://classicalenglishstyle.com
7. House Of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/house-of-leaves-mark-z-danielewski/1102466935
8. Long Division by Kiese Laymon: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Long-Division/Kiese-Laymon/9781982174828
9. Ergodic literature term (coined by Aspen J. Aarseth in Cybertext—Perspectives on Ergodic Literature): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ergodic_literature 
10. Dictee by Theresa Hak Kyung Cha: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/90894 
11. Sunbathing is Forbidden in the Graveyard by Jeannetta Craigwell-Graham in Indiana Review’s Winter Issue: https://indianareview.org/item/winter-2023-volume-44-number-2/
12. The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enriquez: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/624631/the-dangers-of-smoking-in-bed-by-mariana-enriquez/
13. Alice Walker’s journals: https://www.amazon.com/Gathering-Blossoms-Under-Fire-Journals/dp/1476773157/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?ots=1&tag=thneyo0f-20&linkCode=w50&_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
14. Exercises in Style by Raymond Queneau: https://www.amazon.com/Exercises-Style-Raymond-Queneau/dp/0811207897
 

Rejection and Failure

Inspired by an audience member writing in, Episode 4 explores ways we are reframing rejection and failure to best aid us on our writing journey.  The following are questions regarding rejection and failure from our hosts:
 
1. How do you process rejection other than the generic , get yourself back on the horse or allow yourself time to sulk ? What’s another way of looking at not getting what you want for your writing ?
2. Have you ever failed at something you were trying to write? How did that failure function for you after? Is there a difference between how you saw failure earlier in your writing and now?
 
Show Notes
1. Celeste Mohammed’s book Pleasantview: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56186509-pleasantview?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=nzlAGQjgAn&rank=1
2. Rejection Wiki: https://www.rejectionwiki.com/index.php?title=Literary_Journals_and_Rejections
3. Why Marriages Succeed or Fail : And How You Can Make Yours Last by John Gottman, in which the Four Horseman are mentioned: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/129025695-john-gottman?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=67vLw9eAxv&rank=1
4. Chillsubs: https://www.chillsubs.com/
5. Duotrope: https://duotrope.com/
6. Poets & Writers: https://www.pw.org/
7. Indiana Review “Sunbathing is Forbidden in the Graveyard” by Jeannetta Craigwell-Graham: https://indianareview.org/item/winter-2023-volume-44-number-2/
8. VQR: https://www.vqronline.org/
9. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-maslows-hierarchy-of-needs-4136760
10. Email us at writeattention@gmail.com to join The Write Space accountability meeting held on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 11am-1pm Pacific Time
11. Brené Brown’s book Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead, https://brenebrown.com/book/daring-greatly/  
12. Brené Brown’s book Atlas of the Heart, https://brenebrown.com/book/atlas-of-the-heart/
 
 
 

Imagination and Identity

Today’s podcast episode surrounds the concept of imagining and one particular genre: science fiction. Although the conversation focuses on one specific genre, the subject elicits questions about what writing within a particular genre does for your work. Which genres do you write in and what ways do they help you imagine? Does writing in a particular genre open doors to reimagine reality?
 
Questions
1. How do you learn craft between workshops, writing classes/seminars, reading and practice? What do you think the right balance when it comes to learning craft? Do you ever feel out of balance and why?
2. The question Octavia Butler was often asked: What good is science fiction to Black people?” 
 
Show Notes
Octavia Butler, Positive Obsession essay can be found here: https://www.loa.org/news-and-views/1779-octavia-e-butler-positive-obsession 
Samuel R Delaney, The Motion of Light and Water, https://www.eileenmcginnis.com/blog/2018/10/19/turn-and-face-the-strange-samuel-delany-queering-science-fiction-queering-fatherhood
Check out the wonderful world of Helen Oyeyemi here: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/80808.Helen_Oyeyemi 
Robert Jordan, Wheel of Time, https://www.goodreads.com/series/41526-the-wheel-of-time 
Crystal Wilkinson again! - https://www.crystalewilkinson.net/
Hurston-Wright Foundation (https://www.hurstonwright.org/) has some upcoming workshops for emerging Black writers definitely worth checking out 
Lighthouse Writers Workshop - https://www.lighthousewriters.org/ 
Neil Gaiman, American Gods, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30165203-american-gods 
Deep Reading taught by Michael Duszat, The Reader Berlin, https://www.thereaderberlin.com/weekend-workshop/the-deep-reading-workshop-with-michael-duszat/ - sign up for this class whenever it is on next!
E.M. Forrester, A Passage to India (not voyage!), https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45195.A_Passage_to_India 
Toni Morrison, Paradise, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5198.Paradise?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_14 - "They shoot the white girl first. With the rest they can take their time." - what a line!
Eimear McBride, A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing,  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18218630-a-girl-is-a-half-formed-thing?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=69SsZIKOJh&rank=1 
Experimental Writing for Non-Experimental Writers  was facilitated by Porochista Khakpour  (https://porochistakhakpour.com/) via The Center for Fiction  (https://centerforfiction.org/groups-workshops-all/) 
Brittany’s amazing VONA instructor for Fiction, Mathangi Subramanian,  https://www.mathangisubramanian.com/ 
VONA- https://www.vonavoices.org/
Rooted and Written Poetry Cohort - https://rooted-written.org/ led by Tonya Foster (https://tonyafosterpoet.com/)

Permission and Possibility

Jeannetta & Brittany discuss permission and possibility in Episode 2.
 
Questions
1. How do you steal while still being original?
2. Do you feel like you already have an inclination where you need to go, which form you need to use, do you experiment with different forms, or do you just start writing? What comes first?
3. How do you navigate when people say a poem is too abstract? My expectation is that a poem will always be somewhat abstract. Do you get what people are saying when they say it is?
4. How do you honor permission in your work? In what ways are you giving yourself permission? In what way are you noticing you are not? How do you address this in your writing?
 
Show Notes
Writers, books, articles, ideas and questions mentioned in this episode
Jericho Brown “Duplex” from his book The Tradition. Also available on the Poetry Foundation website: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/152729/duplex 
Steal like an Artist by Austin Kleon: https://austinkleon.com/steal/
Turns out this one was Hemingway…“All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.” - https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/30849-all-you-have-to-do-is-write-one-true-sentence 
Spike Lee, School Daze: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096054/ 
Lidia Yuknavitch  and Corporeal Writing - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9pUjixyWI4 

Show, Tell, and Practice

 In this debut episode of The Write Attention podcast, Brittany Felder and Jeannetta Craigwell-Graham talk about where they are on their writing journeys and answer questions about discipline and discernment.
 
Questions
 How do you discern what to keep or remove from your writing?
 What does discipline in writing mean to you?
 
Show Notes
Writers, books, articles, ideas and questions mentioned in this episode
Sonya Huber article, “The Three Words that Almost Ruined Me as a Writer: Show Don’t Tell
Sign up for the Sitting in Silence newsletter here: https://mauricecarlosruffin.substack.com/
Lauren Samblanet's website: https://www.laurensamblanet.com/ 
Finding & Nourishing Pleasure in Your Creative Practices; workshop taken through Reinventing Creative Process: https://www.reinventingcreativeprocess.com/ 
 Building Discernment and Trust in Our Editing Practices; workshop taken through Alchemy Writing Workshop & Community Coven created by Hillary Leftwich: https://alchemyauthorservices.com/home/alchemy-writing-workshop-3/
Writing Tools 55 Essential Strategies for Every Writer by Roy Peter Clark
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
On Writing  by Stephen King
Black Writer’s Program Speculative Workshop led by Aaron Talley
The “heat map”
“Sunbathing is Forbidden in the Graveyard” by Jeannetta Craigwell-Graham forthcoming in January 2023 in the Indiana Review
“Move fast and break things”, sadly apparently a Mark Zuckerberg quote, or at least a Silicon Valley mantra, read this book on why this is may not be working out for them.
Everything Everywhere All at Once film
Lauren Groff  website: https://laurengroff.com/ ; not the article Jeannetta read but here is an article where Groff references her writing routine: https://www.theatlantic.com/books/archive/2021/09/lauren-groff-matrix/619998/
Ben Ferguson’s website here: http://www.benfergusson.com/ . Class was taken through The Reader Berlin: https://www.thereaderberlin.com/
Crystal Wilkinson website here: https://www.crystalewilkinson.net/;  Hurston Wright Foundation: https://www.hurstonwright.org/
Ben Ferguson’s website here: http://www.benfergusson.com/ . Class was taken through The Reader Berlin: https://www.thereaderberlin.com/
Crystal Wilkinson website here: https://www.crystalewilkinson.net/;  Hurston Wright Foundation: https://www.hurstonwright.org/
This episode was recorded in the late summer of 2022.