Tiny Interview #10 - Kristina Marie Darling
Here we ask authors we admire to share their musings on art and writing, spill their current reading obsessions, and give us a tiny wedge into their creative life. In this Tiny Interview, meet Kristina Marie Darling, editor-in-chief of Tupelo Press and author of thirty-nine books including X Marks the Dress: A Registry (co-written with Carol Guess) and Silent Refusal: Essays on Contemporary Feminist Writing.
(Interviewed by Cameron Finch)
‘Les Cygnes,’ Francis Jourdain, 1899
Q: What book(s) are you reading right now?
A: When I'm not logged into Submittable reading submissions for the Berkshire Prize at Tupelo Press, or soliciting poetry for Tupelo Quarterly, I'm usually reading and researching for my forthcoming book with Clemson University Press. It's a study of the work that silence can do in innovative texts. With that in mind, I've been reading Eleanor: Or, the Rejection of the Progress of Love, by Anna Maschovakis, as well as Sarah Manguso's The Captain Lands in Paradise, and Brian Teare's The Empty Form Goes All The Way To Heaven. In my opinion, each of these is also a masterclass in the art of choosing a title.
Q: What are your current writing projects?
A: In addition to the book on silence, I'm working on a novel, which is expected to go to auction later this year. The premise of the book is this: A female graduate student from NYU's Paris Campus goes missing. As her disappearance is investigated, the questions only seem to multiply. Not only did she owe half a million dollars in student loans, but she was having an affair with her married academic advisor and lived in constant fear of being Twitter mobbed. Was it a suicide, murder, or a carefully executed escape plan? You'll have to read the book to find out!
A: Definitely fashion! My friends make fun of me because I kept saying that I needed a space away from poet drama, and at the same time, my closet just kept expanding. While my interest in fashion -- which ranges from collecting rare Chanel to investment jewelry and a glorious array of Yves Saint Laurent scarves and bags -- started out as an escape, it began to find its way into my writing. As a novelist, I love a well-dressed heroine!
Q: Do any other art forms influence your writing? If so, how?
Q: Where is your favorite place to write, and do you have any writing rituals?
A: I actually love switching it up! There's nothing that inspires me more than a change of scenery. As an avid traveler and an alum of over fifty artist residency programs around the world, I write best when my routine is shaken up a bit.
Q: Who is a writer you wish more people were reading?
A: Laurie Sheck! She's undoubtedly one of the most brilliant writers of her generation.
