12 or 20 (second series) questions with Melanie Marttila
Melanie Marttila (she/her) is an #actuallyaustitic author-in-progress,writing poetry and tales of hope in the face of adversity. She has been writingsince the age of seven, when she made her first submission to CBC's"Pencil Box." She is a graduate of the University of Windsor’smasters program in English Literature and Creative Writing and her poetry hasappeared in Polar Borealis, Polar Starlight, and Sulphur.Her short fiction has appeared in Pulp Literature, On Spec, PiratingPups, and Home for the Howlidays. She lives and writes in Sudbury,Ontario, in the house where three generations of her family have lived, on thestreet that bears her surname, with her spouse and their dog, Torvi.
1 - How did your first bookchange your life? How does your most recent work compare to your previous? Howdoes it feel different?
The Art of Floating changed my life by beingmy debut poetry collection. Though I’ve been writing and publishing poetrysince the mid-90s, this is the first time I gathered all my work together andpresented it to the world. That I’m doing this as a middle-aged, late-diagnosedautistic, means that I get to present my poetry and myself to the worldauthentically. So, though most of the work in The Art of Floatingreflects my poetic history over the past 30 years, it's given new freshness andimpact by the poet I am today.
2 - How did you come to poetryfirst, as opposed to, say, fiction or non-fiction?
I started writing poetryseriously during my undergraduate degree at Laurentian University. The campusarts community was self-contained, but vibrant. I was part of the EnglishLiterature Society (now the English Arts Society, which produces the journal Sulphur),and we’d often carpool to the downtown for open mics and community poetryreadings. We’d also host event on campus for the larger community. There wasone memorable poetry slam which pitted students against professors. Guess whowon?
3 - How long does it take tostart any particular writing project? Does your writing initially come quickly,or is it a slow process? Do first drafts appear looking close to their finalshape, or does your work come out of copious notes?
I write most days in somerespect. The ideas for individual poems may come quickly, but I tend to be aslow writer, especially since I continue to work full time and struggle withthe effects of masking for the first 51 years of my life. I’ve come to understandthat I’ve been teetering on the edge of burnout for most of my adult life. Ihave to be selective in the open calls and deadlines I work toward and kind tomyself if I fail to meet them.
4 - Where does a poem usuallybegin for you? Are you an author of short pieces that end up combining into alarger project, or are you working on a "book" from the verybeginning?
Each poem varies. Some strikelike lightning and have to come out allatonce. Others rattle around in my headfor days, weeks, months, or even years. Most poems come out of moments in time,animals I see during my twice-daily dog walks, or ideas that just get stuck inmy head. I’ve only recently thought of writing series on specific themes. As toprojects, well, The Art of Floating took 30 years to come together. Ihope to improve on that in future collections.
5 - Are public readings partof or counter to your creative process? Are you the sort of writer who enjoysdoing readings?
I enjoy reading my work, butpeopling tends to exhaust me, so I have to be mindful of my energy andexecutive functioning levels as I go. I often have to recover after a readingor other event. Fortunately, that often involves writing, which continues to bea solace.
6 - Do you have anytheoretical concerns behind your writing? What kinds of questions are youtrying to answer with your work? What do you even think the current questionsare?
My concerns are more personalthan theoretical. For instance, I’m working on a series that revisits my lifein light of my autism diagnosis. How many traumatic events were simply theresult of my neurodivergence? Is forgiveness possible? Is it even necessary? Ofcourse, the inherent unreliability of memory plays into this. Neurosciencetells us that the longer we retain a memory, the more often we access it, themore potential there is for subtle (or not so subtle) changes to the realevents that initially created the memory. Is how I remember an event even closeto how it happened? Does that matter?
7 – What do you see thecurrent role of the writer being in larger culture? Do they even have one? Whatdo you think the role of the writer should be?
Every act of writing is aninterpretation of the world the writer lives in, tempered by their frame ofreference. Give a room full of poets the same prompt, and each one of them willwrite a wholly original and individual piece. Though the goal of the writer isto tell the truth but tell it slant, as Emily Dickinson said, it’s the impacton the reader that truly tells the tale. The writer’s role in larger culture isto affect the reader (or auditor) emotionally, and by so doing, to resonatewith the reader’s experience, cause them to reflect, and discover somethingabout themselves. If that goal is achieved, the writer has some measure oflongevity and success, even if it is only with one, or a handful, of readers.
8 - Do you find the process ofworking with an outside editor difficult or essential (or both)?
I was surprised to discoverthat I am not precious at all with my poetry. I can be very precious with myprose. The editor’s goal is always to improve the piece and I can see almostinstantly how the poem is improved by following the editor’s suggestions. Ireally enjoyed working with Tanis MacDonald. Mind you, she was my first poetryeditor.
9 - What is the best piece ofadvice you've heard (not necessarily given to you directly)?
One of my professors, John Riddell, once said that the writer has to take pains not to make their alphabettoo personal. By that, he meant that you need to keep your writing accessibleto the reader. The author Is only half the equation. The reader completes thework.
10 - What kind of writingroutine do you tend to keep, or do you even have one? How does a typical day(for you) begin?
Because I work full time, Ihave to write around the workday. I journal daily, usually during a break. AndI read during lunch. I walk my dog twice a day and keep my eyes open for theraccoon squeezing out from under the garage eaves, or the peregrine stooping fora meal. I watch the clouds, catch sun dogs and pillars and rainbows. I oftencan’t write until the evening, but I always have essential oils diffusing,incense burning, lofi music playing. I need some kind of transitional activity,especially now that I’m working from home, even if it’s just a few minutes ofbreathing or a couple of quick sun salutations. Once the stage is set, I setto.
11 - When your writing getsstalled, where do you turn or return for (for lack of a better word)inspiration?
If I’m having trouble with aparticular piece, I’ll switch to something else, whether that’s another poem, acreative non-fiction piece, a short story, or a novel. If nothing seems to beworking, it may be a sign that I’m nearing burnout. I may need to spend sometime daydreaming, freewritng in my journal, going for a walk, or getting out intothe community (though, as an extreme introvert and an autist, that can betricky). You have to find ways to fill your creative well, as Julia Cameronrecommends.
12 - What fragrance remindsyou of home?
Rosemary and wintergreen. Thefirst for home (memory and cooking) and the second for “the bush,” as we callit up here in northeastern Ontario. I’ve found and chewed wintergreen leaves atthe Laurentian Conservation Area.
13 - David W. McFadden oncesaid that books come from books, but are there any other forms that influenceyour work, whether nature, music, science, or visual art?
Some of my poetry isekphrastic, that is inspired by photography or painting. Some has been inspiredby a favourite musical artist, like Kate Bush. I draw on mythology,spirituality, or psychology and science, and often intertwine them for aneclectic interweaving where leptons dance like Sufis, stone yields to sweetrelease of fallen cloud, or tectonic plates come together in self-destructivefrenzy.
14 - What other writers orwritings are important for your work, or simply your life outside of your work?
My favourite poets are localwomen poets, Kim Fahner and Vera Constantineau, both former poet laureates ofSudbury, and Margaret Christakos. Kim has recently helped me to expand mypoetic reading to Vanessa Shields (loved Thimbles!), Monica Kidd, andBeth Kope. Outside of poetry, I adore Tanis MacDonald’s Straggle, andanything Farzana Doctor writes. I also have a soft spot for speculative fictionand read everything from Guy Gavriel Kay and Margaret Atwood to Premee Mohamedand AI Jiang.
15 - What would you like to dothat you haven't yet done?
In terms of writing, I’d loveto be recognized with a prestigious award or prize (don’t we all?), get anagent, and bring one of my novels to publication. I’d love to go back toFinland—I was in Helsinki for a week in 2017—and conduct more genealogical research.I’d also like to learn to paddle board.
16 - If you could pick anyother occupation to attempt, what would it be? Or, alternately, what do youthink you would have ended up doing had you not been a writer?
I tried (and failed) to pursueboth fine art and music in university before settling on writing. I was ingymnastics and dance when I was a child. But I think the path I did not takewas to go into the biological sciences. I think I’d have been an excellentveterinary technologist. Or a wildlife biologist.
17 - What made you write, asopposed to doing something else?
I started writing in grade 3at the age of 7, inspired by a combination of comics, C.S. Lewis, Susan Cooper,Lloyd Alexander, Madeline l’Engle, and the beautiful storybook created bySiobhan Riddell (then in grade 5) of St. George and the Dragon.
18 - What was the last greatbook you read? What was the last great film?
The last great book I read wasWaubgeshig Rice’s Moon of the Turning Leaves. The last great film was PoorThings.
19 - What are you currentlyworking on?
In terms of poetry, I’mworking on a few things. A series examining my life in light of my autismdiagnosis; a series called Schrodinger’s Animals, in which you have to read thepoem to learn if the animal is alive or dead; a fairytale sisters series; and aseries about croning. I’m hoping to place some of these in journals. I’m toyingwith the idea of incorporating the autism series into a hybrid memoir, workingtitle: the autist’s orrery. I’m also working on a piece of short fiction for ananthology call, reworking another for an open submission period, and workingwith a mentor to get my first novel revised and ready for submission. And, ofcourse, I’m continuing to promote The Art of Floating. There are acouple of projects I’ve had to put on the back burner until some time/spaceopens up in my schedule.
12 or 20 (second series) questions;
