What drew you to submit your work to RED SKIES?
I loved the name and the call. And, once I started working with the editor (Rachel), I knew I was in the right place! How do you balance your work as both a writer and an editor? What excites you most about working in the middle field, where you get to interact with both sides?
I have always loved both writing and providing feedback to people on their work. Writing allows me to share my creativity. Editing allows me to learn, and it's like a conversation with the back and forth. You get to know how someone thinks by reviewing their work, which is such a gift. And writing and editing both fit right in with my work as an educator. What has it been like working as the co-principal investigator for Viral Imaginations: COVID 19? Has there been a general shift in submission content from the early stages of the pandemic to now? My colleague and I came up with the idea for Viral Imaginations: COVID-19 (viralimaginations.psu.edu) during the shelter in place phase of the pandemic, when it all started. We wanted to find a way for people to share their creative reflections on the pandemic experience. Over the course of months, we've seen content evolve from loneliness and isolation to the wonder of nature, from the celebration of our health care providers to fear and anger at the failure of our leaders, and from hope to sadness about the injustices that persist and worsen in our society--as the pandemic has not occurred in a vacuum. I'm sure we will see further evolutions of themes as the vaccine rolls out. If you had to pick a single book to quarantine with, what would it be?
Hmmm. That is tough, as I'm such a book hoarder. Really--just one?!? Is community important to your work? Are there any small presses or magazines that you are especially fond of?
Community is central to my work on the the Viral Imaginations project, for example, as the project serves as a communal repository for people to share creative reflections on their personal pandemic experiences and to sample others' reflections on their unique experiences of this time. And the end goal is for the project is to serve as an archive for future scholars, students, and policy makers to help them understand how to better address pandemics by comprehending what went right and what went wrong in how this one has been handled from the human perspective.
As to small presses, I think they are essential because they offer so much more variety of content and are accessible to both readers and writers. And, as a creative content creator, small presses feel much more personal and collaborative.