INTERVIEW: Allie Marini

Web-Exclusive Content on Writing, Editing, and the Progression of Both
by erica joy

As Allie Marini prepares for the publication of her twelfth book, I am confident in stating that the veteran writer knows a thing or two about the literary community—how to not only insert oneself into it, but also become consumed (in the very best way) by it.

Aside from the aforementioned books, her publication list includes individually published poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and journalism (plus a handful of honors and awards). Her work successfully spans multiple genres, time periods, styles, and topics. So who better to feature in the first print issue of Dirty Chai than someone with so much experience and, it stands to reason, words of wisdom?

Because the struggle is totally real as you await the release of Dirty Chai Issue Nine: Living Color, you can, in the meantime, enjoy the following web-exclusive content pulled from my interview with Allie. Be sure to check out the links below, too, for access to her books!

ERICA JOY: How would you characterize your earlier work vs. more recent work?

ALLIE MARINI: Immature vs. mature. Raw vs. refined. Finding my voice vs. trusting my voice. It’s still me, but now me is better at being me. No one hits the ground running perfectly. Writing should evolve. If it doesn’t, I question whether or not you’re really creating, or just phoning it in.

EJ: You’ve mentioned your poetry has grown over the last few years: the difference between writing individual poems and seeing how they fit together, as you did with You Might Curse Before You Bless (ELJ Publications, 2013), versus having a concept first and writing poems toward a common goal, like with Southern Cryptozoology (Hyacinth Girl Press, 2015). How did that growth occur, or was it more a natural progression of your writing style?

AM: I think at the beginning, we don’t allow ourselves to say that we’re a writer. The world kind of shames by saying, “Yeah, but what do you do?” when you say you’re a writer. So, at the beginning, I think most people only allow themselves to write small things, one by one. Then you sort your work into piles, seeing what you’re actually writing about. As you learn to be your own best advocate as a writer, you learn to own saying, “No, I’m a writer, that’s what I actually do,” and I think that’s where the transition happens (at least, that where I think it happened for me).

Instead of going from one poem or short story to the next, you allow yourself to step back and see the bigger picture of the next 10 poems or the next collection of short stories or the next plot outline for a novel. Writing individual poems started to be boring to me, like a one-trick pony. Seeing how multiple poems fit together or how a sequence of poems could tell a bigger story became more interesting to me. I think that’s part of becoming a writer, publishing a few books, finishing a writing program, and just generally becoming more comfortable with allowing my work to evolve and not locking myself into one way of writing—especially if that one way of writing has become outdated.

EJ: What does your editing process look like? Do you edit as you write, go back and revisit old pieces after some time has passed, or ask a friend /fellow editor to lend another set of eyes?

AM: All of the above, but according to Kurt Vonnegut, I’m a swooper. Before I was in school, I had to be very self-reliant for editing. I lived in a place where there weren’t a lot of writers of my age and technical skill level—there wasn’t really a lot of opportunity to have a physical literary community. Then when I was in school, I made a lot of peer connections, which have been some of my most valuable resources over the past 5 years. Now, I have an equal balance of self-editing and peer editing, which, I think, is a large part of why I’ve seen more success in the past 5 years.

EJ: How do you deal with rejection?

AM: I’m part of a large, active, supportive, and secret group of writers (hey there, Bees!) and I vent to them a lot. Most of the time, I try to shake it off. Sometimes it’s harder to do that than others—when my marriage ended, it was really difficult to disentangle my work being rejected from me being rejected. I like to think I’m getting better about dealing with rejections, but truthfully, I’m pretty thin-skinned and they always hurt. But the thing about being brave and finding success it that you keep doing things, even if they’re scary and can potentially hurt you. (It’s a lot like love, I guess.)

EJ: How do you celebrate acceptances?

AM: I celebrate with my writers group. Usually, I squee a little bit (or a lot). I also drink, like I would if I’d gotten a rejection. But happy drinking, not sad bastard shots.

EJ: In your opinion, what’s your greatest achievement thus far?

AM: Probably winning the 2014 Psychopomp Fiction Contest. It’s the first time I’ve ever won first place in any contest. Though I’ve been a finalist and a semifinalist and a runner-up in a number of contests, that was the first time that I made it through the last hurdle and won something. After that, I’d say that starting and funding the Gabo Prize at Lunch Ticket and The Muriel Avellaneda Prize for Young Writers are the things of which I’m most proud.

EJ: What advice would you give to someone looking to change up their writing routine or get out of their comfort zone?

AM: I think the conception of a “writer’s routine” is something born out of privilege, pretension, academia, or a bizzarro combination of all of them—the concept of “writer’s routine” usually means a person with leisure time to devote to writing. Let’s be real, that’s not always a reality if you’re working, have a family, etc. and let’s also be honest here: How many people do you know that really really for real really sit down and pound out 1,000 words every day? But yet, writing magazines keep telling us that these are the hallmarks of a “real” writer, and if you’re not doing it like that, you’re not serious.

So, to answer your question: A comfort zone is not the same as a routine. One of the best things I’ve read lately on this topic is Kate Maruyama’s post on Women Who Write about saying “yes” and doing things that scare you. I also firmly believe that to keep creativity flowing, you have to keep reading, and by reading, I don’t mean books you can buy at a bookstore or on Amazon. I mean books from your peers. If you’re only reading books from famous, well-established top-5-publishing authors, you’re not being influenced by your peers, and that is a problem. Why is that, you ask? Because in the words of Joan Didion, “your peers will ultimately become posterity.”

EJ: Who do you turn to for support throughout the creation and publishing process?

AM: The Bees, my man, my peers and mentors from Antioch, my network of local writers—most of whom have been beta readers, sympathetic ears, drinking buddies, comfort in times of rejection, and cheerleaders in times of success. Quite literally, I could not have gotten to the place where I am (which is a pretty good place) without them lifting me up to help me get there. No one succeeds in anything alone. This is quadrouply true for working writers.

Now, let’s all let out a little squee of our own as we celebrate all Allie has accomplished and anticipate what is to come! Check out the links below for access to her books—you can also visit her facebook page via facebook.com/KiddEternity and follow her on twitter @kiddeternity.

Although I’m slightly less exciting at all-things-social-media, you can find the occasional funny @editorerica.

And remember, stay tuned for Issue Nine of Dirty Chai—*in print,* you guys.

Allie’s Book Links:

Heart Radicals