How did you first come to writing flash fiction? What is it about the
form that resonates?
I’ve been writing flash fiction since I first started writing poetry, as a child. I think it’s because I’ve always loved fables and fairy tales and wrote small stories alongside my poems. I love the intensity of flash fiction, the tiny glimpse into giant universes. I love how time often works in flash fiction—how much beauty, pain AND strangeness can be held even in a solitary moment.
How does a short story begin?
I’ve been writing flash fiction since I first started writing poetry, as a child. I think it’s because I’ve always loved fables and fairy tales and wrote small stories alongside my poems. I love the intensity of flash fiction, the tiny glimpse into giant universes. I love how time often works in flash fiction—how much beauty, pain AND strangeness can be held even in a solitary moment.
How does a short story begin?
For me a short story begins with an image of a
person doing or saying something interesting. The story unfolds around that
person and the reasons they’ve arrived in my head. The story comes from
wanting to know that person, or be with them, or understand them.
How did publishing your first book change your writing?
My first book, suitcases and other poems, was published nearly 20 years ago. I can hardly believe it! I’m not sure publication changed my writing. I think that life—having children, experiencing loss, trying to be a strong mother, daughter, friend—all of these things have changed my writing more than anything else, because they have changed me. However, I think having the good fortune of having a book published when I was in my 20’s helped give me the confidence to keep writing, even when it was hard. Rejection always follows close behind acceptance and success—in all stages of writing life. Having a book is wonderful because it means you might get asked to do a reading or attend a conference. Also: you can hang on to it in scary moments. You can show it to family members or friends who might be confused about what exactly you are devoting your life to. You can hug it when you are sad, throw it when you are angry! It’s yours.
You’ve published work in multiple genres. Do you see your writing as a single, extended project, or a series of disconnected threads? How do you keep the genres straight?
I don’t feel compelled to keep anything in my life straight. I don’t think I know how! I really enjoy writing in different genres. Working on a play feels different from working on a poem. I like how a plays unfold on the page, because of characters and the things they feel and say. I love bringing elements of poetry into everything I write. Projects occupy me until I’ve seen them through—then something else I want to create takes hold. I learn from every project, and this learning contributes to what I decide to focus on next. Most recently I worked on the final stages of a book of poems for children (Climbing Shadows) while continuing work on play for young audiences (Chloe’s Tiny Heart is Closed). The play has a design that is inspired by poetry. In both cases I’m trying to create work for children that they can move around inside, feel part of.
Have you a daily schedule by which you work, or are you working to fit this in between other activities?
Right now I fit writing in around life and more specifically, motherhood. I have three children and my youngest has just started junior kindergarten. I work part-time for a visual artist and I conduct poetry workshops in schools whenever I can. I have more time to write than ever before, but my other responsibilities can easily absorb that time if I don’t make a conscious effort to prevent it. Once I’ve achieved some momentum on a project, carving out the larger blocks of time is much easier.
What are your favourite print or online literary journals?
When my father passed away in 2012, I subscribed to the iconic POETRY magazine and it consoled me. I connect receiving the magazine in the mail every month to his memory. I love to scan the back to see if a poet I know (or have a poetry-crush on!) has something published that month. I get a little thrill from that! I’ve spent time in the province of Saskatchewan, and I'm a big fan of Grain magazine; their short grain contest is still a favourite of mine. TRAIN: a journal of poetry is new but publishes a delightful variety of writers and responds so quickly and respectfully to submissions. The Minola Review (online) edited by the wondrous Robin Richardson, is always moving, challenging and inspiring. I got an acceptance from them at a point in my life when my confidence as a writer was really shaky, and that helped me to keep going with some of the most emotionally challenging work I’ve ever written, which was eventually published in my fourth book of poetry, Precious Energy.
Who are some of the writers you are reading lately that most excite you?
We All Need to Eat by Alex Leslie knocked my socks off. Kathryn Mockler’s Purpose Pitch is sharp, funny and tottering wild! I was in Newfoundland (a province I am madly in love with) recently and have been reading Straight Razor Days (poetry) by Joel Thomas Hynes and Megan Gail Coles new novel—Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club. Both of these books have a vicious beauty to them that stops my heart, like Newfoundland itself. Both Hynes and Coles are multi-genre writers who have created incredible work in theatre and film. I admire them so much. Finally, closer to home—young playwright/performer Augusto Bitter was astounding in his recent one-person show (CHICHO, Pencil Kit Productions) at Theatre Passe Muraille. I hope everyone gets the chance to see his work on stage again soon. I can’t stop thinking about it!
How did publishing your first book change your writing?
My first book, suitcases and other poems, was published nearly 20 years ago. I can hardly believe it! I’m not sure publication changed my writing. I think that life—having children, experiencing loss, trying to be a strong mother, daughter, friend—all of these things have changed my writing more than anything else, because they have changed me. However, I think having the good fortune of having a book published when I was in my 20’s helped give me the confidence to keep writing, even when it was hard. Rejection always follows close behind acceptance and success—in all stages of writing life. Having a book is wonderful because it means you might get asked to do a reading or attend a conference. Also: you can hang on to it in scary moments. You can show it to family members or friends who might be confused about what exactly you are devoting your life to. You can hug it when you are sad, throw it when you are angry! It’s yours.
You’ve published work in multiple genres. Do you see your writing as a single, extended project, or a series of disconnected threads? How do you keep the genres straight?
I don’t feel compelled to keep anything in my life straight. I don’t think I know how! I really enjoy writing in different genres. Working on a play feels different from working on a poem. I like how a plays unfold on the page, because of characters and the things they feel and say. I love bringing elements of poetry into everything I write. Projects occupy me until I’ve seen them through—then something else I want to create takes hold. I learn from every project, and this learning contributes to what I decide to focus on next. Most recently I worked on the final stages of a book of poems for children (Climbing Shadows) while continuing work on play for young audiences (Chloe’s Tiny Heart is Closed). The play has a design that is inspired by poetry. In both cases I’m trying to create work for children that they can move around inside, feel part of.
Have you a daily schedule by which you work, or are you working to fit this in between other activities?
Right now I fit writing in around life and more specifically, motherhood. I have three children and my youngest has just started junior kindergarten. I work part-time for a visual artist and I conduct poetry workshops in schools whenever I can. I have more time to write than ever before, but my other responsibilities can easily absorb that time if I don’t make a conscious effort to prevent it. Once I’ve achieved some momentum on a project, carving out the larger blocks of time is much easier.
What are your favourite print or online literary journals?
When my father passed away in 2012, I subscribed to the iconic POETRY magazine and it consoled me. I connect receiving the magazine in the mail every month to his memory. I love to scan the back to see if a poet I know (or have a poetry-crush on!) has something published that month. I get a little thrill from that! I’ve spent time in the province of Saskatchewan, and I'm a big fan of Grain magazine; their short grain contest is still a favourite of mine. TRAIN: a journal of poetry is new but publishes a delightful variety of writers and responds so quickly and respectfully to submissions. The Minola Review (online) edited by the wondrous Robin Richardson, is always moving, challenging and inspiring. I got an acceptance from them at a point in my life when my confidence as a writer was really shaky, and that helped me to keep going with some of the most emotionally challenging work I’ve ever written, which was eventually published in my fourth book of poetry, Precious Energy.
Who are some of the writers you are reading lately that most excite you?
We All Need to Eat by Alex Leslie knocked my socks off. Kathryn Mockler’s Purpose Pitch is sharp, funny and tottering wild! I was in Newfoundland (a province I am madly in love with) recently and have been reading Straight Razor Days (poetry) by Joel Thomas Hynes and Megan Gail Coles new novel—Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club. Both of these books have a vicious beauty to them that stops my heart, like Newfoundland itself. Both Hynes and Coles are multi-genre writers who have created incredible work in theatre and film. I admire them so much. Finally, closer to home—young playwright/performer Augusto Bitter was astounding in his recent one-person show (CHICHO, Pencil Kit Productions) at Theatre Passe Muraille. I hope everyone gets the chance to see his work on stage again soon. I can’t stop thinking about it!
Shannon Bramer is an author of poems, plays and short fiction. She
has published a number of poetry collections and chapbooks, winning the
Hamilton and Region Best Book Award for suitcases
and other poems. Her most recent collection, Precious Energy, has also been highly acclaimed. Shannon’s plays
include Chloe’s Tiny Heart Is Closed
(for young audiences) and The Hungriest
Woman in the World. Her most recent book, Climbing Shadows: Poems for Children was published by Groundwood
Books in March 2019. A trilogy of plays entitled TRAPSONGS is forthcoming from Bookhug. She lives with her family in
Toronto.
Photo credit : Lara Donsky