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. Get yourself a copy of our Work and Labor Issue to read "The Quit" from Ranee Zaporski.


What was the inspiration for the piece published in the issue?
If I had been raised in a different economic time and place, I would describe myself as having intellectual curiosity about the human condition. The truth is, I’m nosey. The hardest part of Covid for me (from a day-to-day, not talking about death perspective) was that I couldn’t go to a pub and sit and write and eavesdrop. I wrote my first version of The Quit years ago after leaving the service industry. Waiting on people is great informal training for any kind of therapist.

Who are some of your favorite writers, and what do you like about them?
My favorite authors have humor and fantasy and reality and blend all three effortlessly: W.G. Sebald, James Kelman, Flann O’Brien, Ben Okri, Alasdair Grey. I like the recent novels of Nate Lippens because they possess a hard, truth telling voice from a specific time and place: the unsupported and dying queer generation of my youth. I also think a lot about Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan. It doesn’t have a word out of place. In my mind, it’s the perfect book and I will spend the rest of my writing life chasing that perfection.