We love learning more about our contributors, and an interview seemed like a fun way to hear more about the writers and artists we publish, so we gave them a choice of questions to answer. We hope you also enjoy hearing more about the artists and their works. Read on and check out issue 24 for "Local Group Galaxy" from Angela Townsend.



What was the inspiration for the piece published in the issue?
A ghastly sinus infection goosed me into writing this piece. I was half-delirious with fever, watching reruns of The Tonight Show, when I realized that sickness jimmies my heart open to sweetness. The vulnerability of being ill – feeling seven years old again – flooded me with affection for everyone from Keith Richards to the postal carrier. When I am sick, I’m brave enough to believe we are all connected in some great, playful net of tenderness. I wrote the piece to remember that it’s true.

Who or what inspires your work generally?
I am infatuated with “ordinary” people and all the sly serendipities disguised as days. There are mornings where the kindness of the self-checkout supervisor makes me want to abandon my bananas and sit on the linoleum to write a Psalm. I have found kindred spirits in a Bath and Body Works and a cat shelter laundry room. And no one can convince me that my mother is not a seraph with a Brooklyn accent. I only wish I could do them all justice.

Who are some of your favorite writers, and what do you like about them?
I give thanks for Anne Lamott, Brian Doyle, Henri Nouwen, and Madeleine L’Engle (among numberless others). In gloriously different ways, they are all on a stubborn scavenger hunt for grace. They do not slap buttercream over misery or mystery, but when the abyss glares at them, they win the staring contest. Then there is the comic writer Dave Barry, whose humor has saved my life repeatedly.

What are your 3-5 favorite and 3-5 least favorite words and why?
Oh, my stars, I love this question...
Favorites:
1. Irrevocable, because love is as sturdy as we hope.
2. Delightful, because people rarely hear themselves described that way, so we have the opportunity to break the news.
3. Goofus, because it is my species: a small, bumbling mammal whose redeeming qualities are earnestness and joy.
4. Luminous, because we are here to spill light.
5. Beloved, because that is finally everyone’s name.

Least favorites:
1. Loser, because it masquerades as the last word about a person, which is never the case.
2. Perfection, because it has an awfully big shadow for something that doesn’t exist.
3. Mayonnaise, because my mother and I have been arguing how to pronounce it for four decades. Also, it is repugnant.