Q & A with author Judy Reeves and Susan J. Farese of SJF Communications
SJF: In a nutshell, tell us about your book or written piece.
JR: I’m actually the panel moderator for ”Voice, Genre, and the Writer’s Perspective: The Many Paths to Publication,” so I won’t be talking about my own book, but asking questions of the panel members about theirs. However, I’m the author of four books on the writing craft, including the award-winning A Writer’s Book of Days, and Wild Women, Wild Voices.
SJF: What has your experience been as a writer in San Diego?
JR: I’ve been a part of the San Diego literary scene for many years, and before that, I worked in various local media as a writer. But my real involvement took root in 1993 when I co-founded The Writing Center, a non-profit literary organization in the Gaslamp Quarter and later in Hillcrest. We offered classes, groups, workshops, readings and all manner of literary gatherings and events, and I met many writers and became part of our vibrant literary community. After a too-brief five-year history, The Writing Center had to close its doors, but, like the phoenix rising from its ashes, we started San Diego Writers, Ink, and that organization thrives today. The lively literary community is my lifeblood and my support and my inspiration as I continue to write and to teach writing and lead groups and facilitate workshops. I’m very excited that the Writers Festival brings another excellent opportunity for readers and writers to join together.
SJF: How has storytelling influenced your life?
JR: When I was a very young girl, my mother joined the Children’s Classic Book Club for my sisters and me. I’ve been a reader all my life and that naturally influences me to view the world through the lens of storytelling. My father was a wonderful storyteller, too. He could remember names and details and make worlds come alive in the telling. As a writer, I’ve used fiction to tell stories that are rooted in my life, but that can tell a truer truth than the facts sometimes can. I’ve given bits and pieces of my own experiences or thoughts or reflections to characters, and through their actions, I’ve healed experiences in my life. Storytelling has been a way for me to understand history, to walk in someone else’s shoes, to learn of different countries and cultures and beliefs. Storytelling has taken me places, both real and made up, and has expanded my world.
SJF: If you had a magic wand, what kind of opportunities would be available to writers in San Diego?
JR: Even more of what we’re doing now — through organizations like San Diego Writers, Ink and So Say We All and the many and varied organizations that support writers and writing. My magic wand would make more writing classes and workshops available through the schools at all levels by offering funding for instructors and supplies for those who couldn’t afford them. I’d wave my wand over the jails and homeless shelters and juvenile halls to bring the magic of writing to everyone. We’d have more opportunities for bringing different voices together — across cultures and races and ages and income levels. Oh, let me just imagine . . .
SJF: What are you excited about when it comes to participating in the inaugural San Diego Writers Festival?
JR: I am a proponent and maker of community; my favorite thing is bringing people together for a time of communication, celebration, and mutual support, of finding common ground. The San Diego Writers Festival promises a day of this — readers and writers together making some great literary noise — and I can’t wait to see what happens.
SJF: What advice would you give to a new writer in San Diego?
JR: Find a community of writers that can support you and that you can contribute to; a group, a place, a gathering where you can spread your wings and make your own literary noise. There are so many opportunities to be involved in and be a part of. Even though as writers, we must make time for solitude and doing our work, it is possible to write alone/write together.
SJF: Many thanks, Judy!
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Learn More about Susan J. Farese of SJF Communications