12 or 20 (second series) questions with Caroline Topperman
Caroline Topperman is a European-Canadian writer,entrepreneur, and world traveller. Born in Sweden, raised in Canada with arecent stint of living in Poland, she holds a BFA in screenwriting. She is aco-founder of Mountain Ash Press and KW Writers Alliance, and currently runsMigrations Review, and Write, They Said. Her book, Tell Me What You See, servesas a toolkit for her writing workshops. She has written articles for HuffingtonPost Canada, Jane Friedman’s blog, was the Beauty Editor for British MODEMagazine, and served as managing editor for NonBinary Review. Her hybridmemoir, Your Roots Cast a Shadow, explores explosive intergenerationalhistories that link war zones and foreign shores with questions of identity andbelonging. Her next book, The Road to Tang-e Gharu, integrates Afghan folktalesand family memories with the story of one of the greatest roads ever built.
1 - How did your first book change your life? How doesyour most recent work compare to your previous? How does it feel different?I don’t know if my first book changed my life so much since it was more of aworkbook. What did change my life was immersing myself in the publishingprocess and learning what it really takes to write a book, have it be acceptedfor publication, and then do most of the marketing. Your Roots Cast a Shadowis a very different book because it’s a memoir. It is also coming out in a timewhen the literary world is especially divided.
2 - How did you come to non-fiction first, as opposed to,say, fiction or poetry? As a kid I wrote fiction. I was learning to find myvoice. As I got older, I realized that there were real stories out there thatdidn’t need to be fictionalized, and in fact, I believe that it would do themand audiences a disservice if I didn’t stick to the truth.
3 - How long does it take to start any particular writingproject? Does your writing initially come quickly, or is it a slow process? Dofirst drafts appear looking close to their final shape, or does your work comeout of copious notes? Well, it really only takes a second to start. I sitdown and start mapping out my ideas… voila! I’ve started. I would love to meeta writer who is able to sit down and write the perfect first draft. My writingprocess is not linear. Sometimes, I have a lot of ideas and the words just flow,and other times, I write a sentence which then has to marinate for a week. Ido, however, use letters and old documents when I’m working so that is also apart of the process. Often I am “writing,” but it involves a lot ofreading.
4 - Where does a poem or work of fiction usually beginfor you? Are you an author of short pieces that end up combining into a largerproject, or are you working on a "book" from the very beginning?I have a notebook where I keep short pieces. Mostly these are bits and piecesof a larger idea. For now, I am working on a book-length project from thestart. That isn’t to say that I won’t ever write short pieces. Often, my longwork does start out in bits and pieces, but none of them are standalonework.
5 - Are public readings part of or counter to yourcreative process? Are you the sort of writer who enjoys doing readings?While I am not particularly interested in reading my works in progress (toomany unwanted opinions before I am ready to hear them), I do love publicreadings. I used to perform, and being on a stage feels natural.
6 - Do you have any theoretical concerns behind yourwriting? What kinds of questions are you trying to answer with your work? Whatdo you even think the current questions are? My book takes a personal lookat what it means to be Jewish today, especially for those of us who don'tnecessarily fit the traditional mold. I ask questions about how our familystories and cultural backgrounds shape who we are, even if we're not superinvolved in the Jewish community. I also dive into the things we don'tknow about our past and how that affects our sense of identity. Even thoughit's about my own experiences as a Jewish woman, the themes of family,identity, and belonging are something everyone can relate to, no matter theirbackground. It's a book that will hopefully get people thinking and talkingabout how we find meaning and connection in today's fragmented world.
7 – What do you see the current role of the writer beingin larger culture? Do they even have one? What do you think the role of thewriter should be? I come from a long line of artists who used their work asactivism. My Jewish grandfather ran an underground press in pre-WWII EasternEurope, my father worked with a political Polish theatre company that foughtthe communist government, and my mother wrote articles condemningantisemitism.
As such, I believe that writers are artists. Not only is itour job to add to the cultural fabric of a society, but I think that, should wechoose, our work can be provoke wider conversations and challenge the statusquo.
8 - Do you find the process of working with an outsideeditor difficult or essential (or both)? I wouldn’t dream of not workingwith an editor; they are indispensable. I am an editor myself, and I know howmuch work I do when I am helping a writer. I hired an editor before I submittedmy book for publication. Then, it had another developmental edit, a line editand then several rounds of proofreading after it was accepted by my publisher.There is no way that I could have done all of that work alone.
9 - What is the best piece of advice you've heard (notnecessarily given to you directly)? When I originally thought that I wantedto be a theatre director, a well-known director told me that I would need toknow a little bit about everything. I took this to heart and try to apply it toevery project I am working on.
10 - What kind of writing routine do you tend to keep, ordo you even have one? How does a typical day (for you) begin? I like tostart my day by moving whether that be a long walk or rowing. This helps meclear my head and start my day with a fresh outlook. I used to like writingearly in the morning, but now I prefer working later when the world quietsdown. If I’m working on a book, I do check in periodically throughout the dayjust to stay inspired.
11 - When your writing gets stalled, where do you turn orreturn for (for lack of a better word) inspiration? Well, funny you shouldask this question, the response is exactly how my first book, Tell Me WhatYou See came about. I was in the middle of a huge writing and creativeblock when it suddenly hit me: I have a degree in film. This means that much ofmy training was based around visual work. Staring at a blank page is hard forme. So, I grabbed my polaroid camera and started taking photographs. Then, Isimply wrote what I saw on the images. Pretty soon stories started flowingagain. When that happens now, I might read a book that is related to myproject, go look at art, or see a play.
12 - What fragrance reminds you of home? Home hasbeen so many different places that it doesn’t have a representative fragrance,but Tresor has always reminded me of my mother.
13 - David W. McFadden once said that books come frombooks, but are there any other forms that influence your work, whether nature,music, science or visual art? Absolutely. I am always inspired by visualart, dance, working out, and even a long hike in the mountains. I like tothink of it like cross training for the brain. I take my mind off of myproject, focus on something different but equally creative, and the ideas comeback.
14 - What other writers or writings are important foryour work, or simply your life outside of your work? I am constantlyreading, and I’ll read almost anything. My favourite author outside of thecreative nonfiction world is Haruki Murakami, but lately I’ve also startedreading scripts. My current obsession is Prayer for the French Republic.
15 - What would you like to do that you haven't yet done?This will be a boring answer, but I don’t love the word commitment. Itend to see an opportunity and seize it, so I will know what it is when I wantto do when I least expect it.
16 - If you could pick any other occupation to attempt,what would it be? Or, alternately, what do you think you would have ended updoing had you not been a writer? Haha, well I have managed a rock-climbinggym, danced, worked in a library, owned a Pilates studio frequented by athletesand A-list celebrities, worked in fashion and beauty, sold after marketautomotive products, sold insurance, worked in real estate development, and now,I co-own a hybrid press. If I was to do anything else, it would probably beworking in the theatre in some capacity.
17 - What made you write, as opposed to doing somethingelse? I have never not written. I majored in screenwriting at university,so I think that this is what I was always meant to do in some capacity. Foryears I resisted writing. After trying so many other things, it was natural tocome back to it.
18 - What was the last great book you read? What was thelast great film? I have read a lot of fantastic books lately, but one thatmade me think about how I want to present my work to the world was Not aNovel: A Memoir In Pieces by Jenny Erpenbeck. This movie is a bit older,but I really enjoyed, Belfast. I saw it on a recent flight, and it hasstayed with me.
19 - What are you currently working on? I have juststarted working on my next book, The Road to Tang-e Gharu: Family Stories, FolkTales, and the Limits of Memory, which is centered around my family’s timein Afghanistan during WWII while my grandfather was building the road fromKabul to Jalalabad. The book explores the power of memory and storytelling toconnect generations and illuminate the past.
