|
Sage Cohen |
|
Sage’s 18Q |
|
The Eighteen Questions |
|
18Q |
|
Like the Heart, the World, poetry collection Writing the Life Poetic, (Writer’s Digest Books, February 2009) |
|
Bibliography |
|
URL |
|
Nominate us as a Writer’s Digest 101 Best Web Site.
Email: writersdig@fwpubs.com with as the subject. |
|
The Eighteen Questions and 18Q are trademarks of Fabulist Flash Publishing.
This website, The Eighteen Questions, and 18Q are part of
The Fabulist Flash Publishing Family |
|
1. Did you choose the writing profession or did it choose you? Writing chose me as a passion. I chose writing as a profession. After the wild, passionate courtship phase, writing and I settled into an amiable, long-term relationship.
2. What is your background? (education, work, etc.) I have a B.A. in comparative literature and an M.A. in creative writing, poetry. For more than a decade, I’ve run my own marketing communications consulting firm, Sage Communications, www.sagecohen.com. I’m also a life coach, teacher of poetry, 5-element acupuncture novice and organizer of various community and literary events.
3. When did you ‘know’ you were a writer? I wrote poems secretly, starting at age 14. Because I never shared my work with anyone and had zero ambition beyond expressing my feelings, it was nearly a decade before I had any awareness of what I was doing. At age 23, having quit an all-encompassing job so that I could do temp work and have more time for my writing, I had my first moment of self-consciousness. As I was sitting at a corporate desk playing secretary for the day, one of those cartoon thought bubbles appeared over my head. It said: “If you are writing every day, you must be a writer!” I think I applied for graduate school (to study poetry) the next week.
4. How would you describe your style of writing? My prose tends to be poetic, and my poetry is often narrative. Thus are the paradoxes of being bi-genre!
5. What is your writing process? Generally, I turn my sails into the wind and write until I figure out where I’m headed. As I write, the purpose of the piece makes itself known at some point, and then I follow that thread as far as I can. Editing comes later, once I have some emotional and practical distance from the piece.
6. What was your path to publication? Since my early 20’s I’ve been publishing individual poems, essays and short stories in literary journals and anthologies. This year I published my first book, the poetry collection Like the Heart, the World, via lulu.com. For my second book, Writing the Life Poetic––a creative companion for beginning poets––I wrote a proposal, pitched and sold it to Writer’s Digest Books.
7. What is your favorite self-marketing idea? I learned from Gregory Kompes, publisher of The Fabulist Flash, the value of the e-mail signature line. It’s free, it’s completely flexible, and literally every person I communicate with can get a targeted, personalized message if I so choose. I announce books, readings and classes this way.
8. What are the biggest surprises you’ve encountered as a writer? I think the biggest surprise is that my writing has an audience! I wrote by myself and for myself for so long that it is still a little strange to me that other people relate to and appreciate what I have to say.
9. How do you inspire yourself? What are your sources of creativity? I hike with my dogs every day in the beautiful rain forests of Portland, Oregon to nourish my spirit and enliven my mind. Dancing, drumming and washing the dishes offer a similar state of creative grace. And I read poetry to fill the well so that when I come the page, I am overflowing.
10. What is your proudest writer moment? In my early twenties, I wrote an erotica short story that Susie Bright selected for the Herotica 3 anthology. I have never felt so rich as when I received my first royalty check for $75.
11. What’s the best advice you were given about writing? I read an interview with Grace Paley, who was asked: “You’re a mother, an activist, a teacher and a writer. How do you have time to do it all?” To which Grace replied, with her typical sass and humor, “Well, I have all day.”
This gave me a good dose of humor and humility about how I prioritize my writing. The reality is that no matter how busy we are, there is enough time for writing if we choose to make the time.
12. What is your most embarrassing writer moment? When I graduated high school, I was selected to give the commencement speech. My mother advised me that I should speak far slower than I would normally speak so that I could be clearly understood over the loudspeakers. Evidently, I overdid it with the slow-talk. Classmates later teased, “I....liked.....your......grad......u....ation.....speech.”
13. What business challenges have you faced as a writer? The business of writing has been far more celebratory than challenging for me. I feel quite fortunate to make my living as a marketing communications freelance writer. The writing I do for money and the writing I do for love often cross-fertilize, making each more successful. I feared that business writing would deplete my creative writing resources, but it’s been a decade now, and that hasn’t been my experience.
14. What is your writer life philosophy? I do what I can to heed Eleanor Roosevelt’s advice: “Do one thing every day that scares you.”
15. When you’re not writing what do you do for fun? I love to attend and organize readings, see live music, hike, dance, sing, drum and pet my two dogs and three cats. Lately, I’ve also been nursing an addiction to Six Feet Under.
16. Who do you like to read? My favorite poets are Jane Hirshfield, Mary Oliver, Wallace Stevens, Pablo Neruda, Mari L’Esperance, Nuar Alsadir and Frank O’Hara.
17. What’s your advice for new writers? Find a great mentor. With someone you trust and respect helping you test the writing waters, you’re far more likely to discover a voice and practice that will sustain you over the long term.
18. What are you currently working on? I’m writing a creative companion for beginning poets titled Writing the Life Poetic. It is due out in February 2009 from Writer’s Digest Books. |
