Patricia Debney – Interview – April 2007
Where are you from?
I was born in Austin, Texas, and grew up South-western Virginia, in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I've lived in the UK, though, for the last 19 years.
Tell us your latest news?
The most exciting is the imminent publication of 'Losing You', a short novel about two women, and love, and parenthood, and loss -- etc! The books arrive this week!
When and why did you begin writing?
I think I wrote my first poems when I was ten or eleven. I was a voracious reader, always, and I remember having the sudden -- and dramatic -- realisation that all of these words I so loved to read were actually *written* by someone. That they didn't just materialise out of magical ether. Around that time too I remember seeing a Greyhound bus go by full of people -- nothing unusual in that -- but I remember thinking that each person I could see through the window had a life, a different life, and a story. And I found that I wanted to imagine those stories. These two realisations happened in quick succession – and from then on, all I really wanted to do was write.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I think I'm one of the lucky ones -- I've always thought of myself as a writer. It's been a downfall in some ways, as I didn't publish my first book until I was 40 -- and getting to that was at times heartbreaking, seeming to take so long compared to what I believed...But I can honestly say that I've
never really believed I was anything else.
What inspired you to write your first book?
My first published book was actually a book of prose poems, 'How to Be a Dragonfly' (Smith Doorstop Books), published in 2005. In that, my inspirations were everyday life, and in a sense, my frustrations at not being able to capture it in my writing until then. I wanted to write about the 'small moments' I couldn't place in other work: my children, flowers in my garden, the planet Venus. So I wrote the prose poems, solely for myself, and then when I had a bunch, entered them in a competition. I was staggered when they won, and the book was published from that. 'Losing You' -- my first work of fiction – was inspired by two things: one, an image of a red mark right in the middle of white space; and two, the concept of sudden disappearance. Somehow these two things 'clicked', and made a situation, two families -- and a book.
Who or what has influenced your writing?
Terribly difficult to answer -- at once no one and nothing, and everyone and everything.
How did you come up with the title Losing You?
There ended up being a lot of losses in the book – of all sorts. I wanted the title to capture these losses with a certain longing, and not by being attached to any one character. One way or another, everyone in the book could 'own' the title, and I wanted that ambiguity, that state of flux, the feeling that we were all in this together.
What books have most influenced your life?
Another difficult question. My childhood books remain important to me: The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery), along with Susan Cooper's 'Dark is Rising' series. Though completely different in style, they seemed to tap into this pervasive feeling I had as a child, and still have now to an extent: that we cannot see all of what's important; that whether it's a parallel world, or a parallel emotional space, much of what most important is always hidden or buried.
As an adult, books like Marquez's 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' and Morrison's 'Beloved' had enormous impacts on me. They were mysterious, magical, surreal, but deeply entwined with psychological reality and the (once again) unknown, irrational -- but vital -- parts of ourselves. More recently, Rose Tremain's 'Music and Silence' and Ian McEwan's 'Atonement' have reminded me what the best 'storytelling' is -- the complete involvement in a book and its world.
If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
I've been in workshop with and worked with many writers I've felt mentored by, and learned an enormous amount from; among these, Stuart Friebert and Diane Vreuls at Oberlin College (in Ohio) figure highest. They helped me to find my subjects, my writing voice, and were hugely, hugely talented themselves. Our aesthetics chimed from the beginning, and that was invaluable; they always raised, never lowered, the bar. Of writers I haven't worked with, but feel 'allied to', I'd have to put Raymond Carver and Flannery O'Connor up there. Their economical, 'under the surface' writing is stylistically close to mine. I've always loved their 'edginess', their near-poetry.
What book are you reading now?
I teach in a University, so during term time I find I'm not able to read 'heavy' books. I read poetry -- most recently, Susan Wick's new collection, 'De-iced' -- and whatever my eleven year old son – a voracious and discriminating reader -- recommends! At the moment I'm finishing the new Michael Morpurgo novel, 'Alone on a Wide, Wide Sea'. Next is 'Skellig' (David Almond). When summer comes, I'm set to attack the new Tracy Chevalier novel, 'Burning Bright', Nigel Williams' 'The Wimbledon Poisoner', and Rose Tremain's book of short stories, 'The Darkness of Wallis Simpson'. The book I can never seem to get to, but must soon, is Marilynne Robinson's 'Gilead'.
Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
Um...me? Seriously, there is of course a constant supply of new writers, all of whom have so much to offer. 'New' is a relative term, of course; the newest writers haven't actually published yet. In fact, some of the most exciting work I see is that by the best of my students: it may not be as crafted as published work needs to be, but it's so exciting, and fresh.
What are your current projects?
I'm 'polishing up' a short story collection. Over the years I've won and been shortlisted for several short story prizes, and published a few, so I'd like finally to put these together into a book. I'm also partway through two more projects: a second collection of prose poetry, and a memoir. Plenty to keep me busy!
Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
I'm sure my interest in writing sprung directly from my obsession with reading. In my early years, I was an only child dealing with a fair amount of instability, and by nature a 'big thinker'. I needed someplace to put all these thoughts about the world, and a way to make something of my own. Writing was both a way of *connecting* to the world of words I so loved, a path outward -- and a way of *preserving*, making and keeping something that could never be anyone else's.
What do you see as the influences on your writing?
This feels pretty straightforward: the Deep South (its landscapes and storytelling); music (virtually everything except easy listening and acid rock); and dance. Of these, the latter is perhaps the most unusual, and subtle. I've done ballet (and when younger, contemporary, jazz and modern dance) all of my life, at one point nearly taking it up professionally. More and more I wonder if the phrasing in my writing, the rhythm, sound and depth I strive for -- I wonder if this all stems from my relationship with dance, and the constant negotiation between, and respect for, the body and the mind.
Who is your favourite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
You know what -- I just can't answer this satisfactorily! My favourite author tends to be the last wonderful book I've read, and as such is so dependent on the situation.... If it's any help, some of my favourites are listed elsewhere: Carver, O'Connor, Tremain, McEwan, Morrison...But I now realise I've left out two other major ones – Faulkner and Styron. I can't read much of these last two at one sitting -- finding the dark, tangled worlds almost *too* accurate, too close to the bone. Stylistically
our writing has little in common, but in my heart, I know that their worlds are fundamentally my world. I understand them as an American from the South understands them, and I always will.
Do you have to travel much concerning your books?
Not yet! Quite a bit around the UK. Once my books go to the States, I'd expect to do a bit more.
Who designed the covers?
For 'Losing You', my publisher sent me a choice of images. I liked the chair and shoes the best almost immediately.
For my prose poems, 'How to Be a Dragonfly', I saw the image at a conference on science and the arts. I liked it so much that when the book was accepted for publication some months later, I tracked it down through the organiser, and found the photographer.
What was the hardest part of writing your book?
The re-drafting. I think this is the hardest part of any creative process. The first draft is a bit of a slog, but you are carried along by the feeling that it's all new and fresh. The re-drafting is completely necessary, but sometimes it's not so clear what you're doing, and the words feel dead. But in this process lies the art, of course.
Do you have any advice for other writers?
Lots. I teach whole courses full of advice. Most importantly, I'd say that to be a writer you need to be a good reader. You need to be able to look at any text critically, and train yourself to look at your own work in the same way. Find or form a writing group, join a writing course, and read books about writing. The better you become at reading other people's work with a critical eye, the better you will be at reading your own.
Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
Take your time.
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