Creatives in Quarantine
Welcome to Bookshelf BANTER. we have bards, storytellers, and artists weighing in on some key questions. Ease your stress, wash your hands, and join the conversation!
Meet… Trelana Daniel
Trelana Daniel is a student enrolled in the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s MFA Creative Writing Program. As a student of the MFA program, she has participated in four writing residencies at the Lied Lodge in Nebraska City with mentoring authors such as Tom Paine, Jim Peterson, Teri Youmans, and Patricia Lear. She had the opportunity to engage with the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Writers’ Institute as well as take continuing education classes at Northwestern University in creative writing. View her website here.
1. Which book have you always meant to read that you can turn to at this time?
Game of Thrones
2. Which writing or art project is knocking at your door?
I really need to get this thesis done... so the thesis. I’d like to be writing something more uplifting.
3. Best apocalypse snack?
Mandarin oranges were on sale at the end of the shelves being empty so I have two bags of cuties.
4. Pandemic movie marathon: what's on your list of must-see films?
God, I need some suggestions. I’ve been in a movie rut.
5. You have been selected to create a motto for the Coronavirus crisis. What's the slogan?
Where the fuck did all the TP go?
Meet… Michelle Quick
Michelle Quick is a human from the Midwest, who is writing her way through several existential crises. More at michellekquick.com.
1. Which book have you always meant to read that you can turn to at this time?
Fifty Shades of Grey
2. Which writing or art project is knocking at your door?
Nothin' knocking on this door, girl. #socialdistancing
3. Best apocalypse snack?
Leftovers. Ration yo shit.
4. Pandemic movie marathon: what's on your list of must-see films?
Reality Bites
5. You have been selected to create a motto for the Coronavirus crisis. What's the slogan?
Save the World From the Comfort of Your Couch
Meet… Alexandra Kesick
Alexandra Kesick grew up in the Hudson Valley in New York and now lives in the Boston area. She is the assistant editor for The Cantabrigian literary magazine and she does too many things. Her work has been featured in Honey and Lime Lit, Ghost City Press, and 24hr Neon Mag, among others. Learn more about her at https://www.alexandrakesick.com/.
1. Which book have you always meant to read that you can turn to at this time?
After reading her incredible essay titled "The Crane Wife" in The Paris Review, I'm looking forward to reading Family of Origin by CJ Hauser. The hard copy has been sitting on my bookshelf and calling.
2. Which writing or art project is knocking at your door?
I am currently working on my Master's thesis, a short story collection with themes pertaining to millennial culture, subculture, and complexities. Some of these themes include vlogging, generational divides, commodified feminism and self-care, and dating.
3. Best apocalypse snack?
Trader Joe's super sour Scandinavian swimmers.
4. Pandemic movie marathon: what's on your list of must-see films?
Call Me By Your Name and Jojo Rabbit and Ladybird and Tully.
5. You have been selected to create a motto for the Coronavirus crisis. What's the slogan?
I think we should just recycle the WWII motivational posters and the former British government can keep the creativity credit: "Keep calm and carry on," and perhaps even better: "Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution Will Bring Us Victory."
Meet… Heather Sweeney
Heather Sweeney, she/her, lives in San Diego where she writes, teaches, and does visual art. Her chapbooks include Just Let Me Have This (Selcouth Station Press) and Same Bitch, Different Era: The Real Housewives Poems (above/ground press). Her collections, Dear Marshall, Language is Our Only Wilderness (Spuyten Duyvil Press) and Call Me California (Finishing Line Press) are forthcoming this year.
1. Which book have you always meant to read that you can turn to at this time?
I am looking forward to reading a hefty book about five female abstract artists: Ninth Street Women.
2. Which writing or art project is knocking at your door?
Right now I am finishing a chapbook manuscript called The Book of Likes. I am thinking about starting a series that has been brewing for a while called Poems from Trader Joe's.
3. Best apocalypse snack?
Best snack? Great question! I have had chips and salsa for the last three days…
4. Pandemic movie marathon: what's on your list of must-see films?
I am planning on watching The Virgin Suicides later. I can't believe I never saw it. I love Kirsten Dunst, plus I miss the 90s.
5. You have been selected to create a motto for the Coronavirus crisis. What's the slogan?
Manic frailty
Meet… Suzanne Guess
Suzanne Guess, an old kazoo with sparkle, lives and writes in Des Moines, IA. She is the founder of the Raccoon River Reading Series. Her work has appeared in Brevity, Intercom, Concurrence, Collectors Journal, and the Journal of Business and Technical Communication.
1. Which book have you always meant to read that you can turn to at this time?
Mansfield Park
2. Which writing project is knocking at your door?
"Where'd You Go, Eyebrows?" — the idea I just pitched
3. Best apocalypse snack?
Blue Bunny Bunny Tracks ice cream
4. Pandemic movie marathon: what's on your list of must-see films?
Gone with the Wind (always), The Lady Eve (Barbara Stanwyck), All About Eve (Bette Davis)… where my motto came from: "And me, an old kazoo with sparkle."
5. You have been selected to create a motto for the Coronavirus crisis. What's the slogan?
Naps... the new normal.
Meet… Annie Shalvey
Annie Shalvey is a communications professional based in Rhode Island. She writes professionally on a variety of topics including education, career and professional development, travel, current events, and social media trends. She also serves as a freelancer content writer for a number of national banks. Annie is currently pursuing an MBA with a concentration in executive communications. Her dream job? Professional storyteller, dog mom, and world traveler. More at https://annieshalvey.com/.
1. Which book have you always meant to read that you can turn to at this time?
IT by Stephen King
2. Which writing or art project is knocking at your door?
A DIY pillow project I started and immediately stopped.
3. Best apocalypse snack?
Dill pickle cashews... I can’t stop eating them!
4. Pandemic movie marathon: what's on your list of must-see films?
I’m still trying to get through the Marvel movies so I think that’s my goal for quarantine.
5. You have been selected to create a motto for the Coronavirus crisis. What's the slogan?
Make hand sanitizer great again!
Meet… Shyla Shehan
Shyla Shehan is an analytical Virgo who was raised in Iowa and has spent most of her life living in the midwest. She currently works as an engineer for a Healthcare IT company and studies poetry in the MFA program at the University of Nebraska. Shyla is also a mom to two amazing humans and three wily cats. She likes to garden, blog, travel, and she takes a lot of pictures. More about Shyla can be found on her website at shylashehan.com.
1. Which book have you always meant to read that you can turn to at this time?
I'm reading “Nine Gates, Entering the Mind of Poetry,” which is a collection of essays by Jane Hirshfield.
2. Which writing or art project is knocking at your door?
Mostly just trying to work on my thesis n stuff.
3. Best apocalypse snack?
The hot-commodity snack around here is Cheez-Its and we are fully stocked and ready to hunker-down.
4. Pandemic movie marathon: what's on your list of must-see films?
I don't have any must-see films but we are currently watching the docudrama “Manhunt” about Ted Kaczynski.
5. You have been selected to create a motto for the Coronavirus crisis. What's the slogan?
You get what you get and you don't throw a fit.
Meet… Alexandra Naughton
Alexandra Naughton is the founder and editor in chief of Be About It Press. She is the author of a place a feeling something he said to you, as well as ten other published books. She is on Patreon here.
1. Which book have you always meant to read that you can turn to at this time?
I've got a huge stack of books that I've been meaning to read. I might start with The Lover by Marguerite Duras. I've also got We Can Save Us All on my desk and I keep glancing over at it like, maybe I should start this. Even though I'm confining myself at home, I haven't had much time to myself. I work in the live event industry and work has been nuts with all these major events being postponed and canceled, so I've been distracting myself with staying busy with that.
2. Which writing or art project is knocking at your door?
I'm wrapping up the new Britney Spears themed Be About It zine. Pieces from the zine are being published online on the Be About It Press blog, and I hope to have the zine printed in early April, after quarantine.
3. Best apocalypse snack?
Popcorn, obviously. *insert Michael Jackson Thriller gif*
4. Pandemic movie marathon: what's on your list of must-see films?
Night of the Comet, to start. The last time I self-quarantined (because of the flu) I watched all the available episodes of The Good Place, and that was a nice distraction. The time before that I found a list of Alfred Hitchcock films ranked by the British Film Institute and went through most of the list by finding films streaming online on various sketchy sites. Honestly not sure how many movies I'll be able to watch, especially with my wonky internet connection.
5. You have been selected to create a motto for the Coronavirus crisis. What's the slogan?
COVID-19 2020: I hope we survive.
Meet… Paul Rowe
Paul Rowe is guest-editor of the upcoming Boston anthology (Dostoyevsky Wannabe 2020) and video games editor at Queen Mob's Tea House. Paul writes music and television reviews for PopMatters and lives with his wife Jessica and cat Clementine on the north shore.
1. Which book have you always meant to read that you can turn to at this time?
I can now turn to Stanislaw Lem's Solaris.
2. Which writing or art project is knocking at your door?
Knocking at my door are essays, interviews, and reviews.
3. Best apocalypse snack?
Mac n' cheese is the best apocalyptic snack.
4. Pandemic movie marathon: what's on your list of must-see films?
Must-see movies might be Uncut Gems, Godzilla (1954), Casablanca, Last Action Hero, The Mothman Prophecies, Rushmore, The Vanishing, and John Carpenter's The Thing, in any order.
5. You have been selected to create a motto for the Coronavirus crisis. What's the slogan?
"I'll have a Corona. Hold the virus."
Meet… CS Taylor
CS Taylor was raised on fairy lit paths somewhere between the backstreet alleys of Jackson, Mississippi, and the jazz infested avenues of New Orleans. Currently, she’s settled in the open meadows of Iowa, where the tulips grow thicker than the grass. She graduated with her terminal degree in Writing and Editing from University of Nebraska (Omaha) in 2018, and now she delegates her writing efforts to mentoring young authors, providing editing services to Indie writers, and grumbling at her uncooperative characters. CS Taylor can be reached at her email: thefoldedworld@gmail.com. You can also reach out to her through Instagram, Facebook, GoodReads, Pinterest, or on her blog: https://thefoldedworld.wordpress.com.
1. Which book have you always meant to read that you can turn to at this time?
Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno.
2. Which writing or art project is knocking at your door?
So many projects, so little time. Currently, I have three novels, a short story, and a blog series in the works.
3. Best apocalypse snack?
Pretzels and cheese solve literally anything.
4. Pandemic movie marathon: what's on your list of must-see films?
Mission Impossible. Lord of the Rings. All of them.
5. You have been selected to create a motto for the Coronavirus crisis. What's the slogan?
Why 2020
Meet… Sarah O’Brien
Sarah O’Brien is a writer from Massachusetts, USA. She’s a poet, a painter, an editor, a teacher, a photographer, tarot reader, and the founder of Boston Accent Lit. Learn more at www.sarahobrien.org and follow her @fluent_saracasm.
1. Which book have you always meant to read that you can turn to at this time?
I can finally read Sally Wen Mao’s poetry collection, Oculus.
2. Which writing or art project is knocking at your door?
I’m writing and editing poems for my WIP book. It’s untitled as of yet.
3. Best apocalypse snack?
Chocolate chip cookies.
4. Pandemic movie marathon: what's on your list of must-see films?
Love stories are my favorite. I’m your friend who talks during the movie. Sometimes I cry. I’m probably going to watch Call Me by Your Name again soon. That was a hot one.
5. You have been selected to create a motto for the Coronavirus crisis. What's the slogan?
Kindness is Contagious
