Interview: Lisa Zaran
by Sean McGahey
Lisa Zaran is an American poet, essayist, author and artist. Best known for her poetry collection, “the sometimes girl”, which was published in 2004 by Inner Circle Publishing. Lisa continues to write as well as speak at poetry festivals. In January 2007 she founded a poetry journal, Contemporary American Voices, whose goal is to encourage and carry out through publishing the art of poetry.
If I weren’t talking to you right now I’d be …
Sipping Merlot while contemplating my next big adventure. Oh wait, I am sipping Merlot and contemplating my next big adventure!
A phrase I use far too often …
We’re all dying. (short explanation: every time a person complains to me that they are dying, I respond with, we’re all dying. So, what’s that say about all those other people complaining about hardships, eh?)
The most surprising thing that ever happened to me was …
Uff da! This is tough. I would have to say every moment that was a revelation to me. You know, those whoa moments when everything you thought you knew wasn’t true at all. For example, when a lyric in a song is nothing like the lyric you’ve been singing along to for years. It’s shocking and hard to accept.
I am not a politician but …
thank god. If I was, I’d find breathing difficult.
You know me as a writer but in truer life I’d have been …
A rock star.
In a nutshell, my philosophy is this:
Still in a nutshell.
What kind of music are you listening to? (as if we really need to ask!!)
Everything Dylan. The White Stripes (heading to Austin next month to see them!), Howlin’ Wolf, Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, B.B. King. Oh, and did I mention Dylan?
What do you think of the more alternative, cultural phenomenon of the Internet based lit-Zine scene? Is it a good thing? Or is it killing off the traditional paper based publishing industry??
I think it’s a good thing. It’s served me well. It’s gotten my work to people who may have otherwise never heard of me. I’ve gained friends, partnerships, relationships and requests for more work because of it. I don’t think it will ever totally annihilate the paper publishing industry. People like magazines. I like magazines. I like journals and anthologies. Many online ‘zines are producing quarterly prints anyway. It’s still a fantastic feeling to hold a book in one’s hand and smell the pages.
What role has the Internet played in your writing?
A major role. I’ve had poetry put to music because of the internet. I’ve had a book translated to German because of access on the internet. I’ve met hundreds of other poets, editors, musicians, etc. because of the internet. The biggest asset a poet can gain by the internet is exposure. Exposure to people living in India, Turkey, London, Mexico. Heck, even people living across the United States. I’ve had work studied by forty classes from elementary age through college. Each of these found me through the internet.
Do you write a novel/short story for a reaction or do you write novels/short stories for personal reasons?
Always personal. Always. It’s all about me.
Is what you write about purely literary, or is it a depiction of a certain world you‘ve been a part of?
I want to express myself in a literary fashion. That is my goal. But, I also want to entertain or drag a person in. I want them to know my world and my experiences, but not because I think my world is something unique. I myself want to feel accepted and know that my world and my thoughts are not so unique. Perhaps there is somebody out there that can relate. Somebody who will turn to me and say, I know where you’re coming from. I’ve been there. It’s going to be alright.
Top 5 books you’d rescue from a burning building?
~The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa
~The Sorrows of Young Werther by Goethe
~Chronicles Volume 1 by Bob Dylan
~The unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath
~My childhood Bible
A common misconception of me is:
That I’m shy.
If you could have a beer with any writer dead or alive who’d it be, and why?
Fernando Pessoa. Fernando Pessoa. Fernando Pessoa, that sad sad man.
What are you currently working on?
Another book. A songwriting deal. Tickets to Austin, Texas to see The White Stripes. A Dear Bob Dylan letter. A poem about my dead father. A secret I won’t reveal.
Anyone else on the scene you’d recommend?
Any poet that is highly strung. Trust me, you’ll find them. They’re everywhere.
What is the one thing you truly want people to get out of your work?
That tingly feeling.
http://www.contemporaryamericanvoices.com