Author Julie Gilbert Discusses the Writing of Her New Book ‘Giant Love’
Julie Gilbert Today, we delve into the enduring relevance of the themes explored by Pulitzer Prize -winning author Edna Ferber
Courtesy of Caidan Pilarski At 5 p.m. on Nov. 15, 2024 at Buffalo Street Books in downtown Ithaca, Miklos Mattyasovszky and Sam Samakande of the Cornell MFA in Creative Writing program could be seen reciting their fiction and poetry respectively to an eager group of writing enthusiasts. I was among the crowd of young and old people alike who gathered to listen to these talented writers. I had to trek down from campus on foot but it was absolutely worth it. I sat through the event with ears that devoured every word spoken, every image described and every idea proposed. In all honesty, while I do like fiction, I generally lean towards indulging in poetry (as well as writing it), but Mattyasovszky’s story was among the best I have ever read or heard. Samakande’s poetic works were extraordinary as well. Afterwards, I took the opportunity to uncover more about the voices of the event; Mattyasovszky and Samakande had wonderful details to share with me (slight edits for clarity were made with regard to the responses). CP: Tell me more about who you are as a writer, what you enjoy writing, your inspirations, etc. MM: After 10 years of working in technology, specifically 3D printing and AI, my perspective is definitely influenced by witnessing technology’s cultural, political and social impact. Much of my fiction contains speculative elements, but I’m influenced by squarely realist authors like Jonathan Franzen, Jane Smiley (usually a realist) and Annie Proulx in equal measure to speculative authors like Ursula K. LeGuin and Octavia Butler. I also take a lot of cues from mythological and anthropological texts, as I think the language of myth is frequently quite appropriate to address the effect of technology on global society. SS: As an autobiographical poet, my work examines themes such as mental illness, love, connection, the erotic, family and identity—what I call the landscapes of feeling and belonging in my life. It considers what it looks like to inhabit my particular body, the complexities of belonging in relationships and in the world as an embodied being existing with depression. My […]
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Julie Gilbert Today, we delve into the enduring relevance of the themes explored by Pulitzer Prize -winning author Edna Ferber
The Mallorcan Joana Marcús is a young bestseller in Spain and America, writer of young adult novels with a romantic
