BookSparks University presents Guest Professor #1, Anne Leigh Parrish author of What is Found, What is Lost.
Happy Homecoming week, Sparks! We are so thrilled to include Anne Leigh Parrish as one of our guest Professors for #FRC2014! Here, she answers 20 questions about her inspirations, writing experience, and a little about her self…
1. What was your biggest inspiration while writing your book?
There were several inspirations, but I’d have to say the biggest was imagining the grandmother I was named for, but never knew. She came to this country in 1920. She was Armenian, and married a Swiss. Her life was an unhappy one, yet she struggled to make it better.
2. What is usually on your nightstand?
Anything by Michael Cunningham, Marilyn Robinson, Lousie Erdrich, or William Trevor.
3. Which character in your book is most like yourself?
Probably the 62 year old widow, Freddie. Now, I’m neither a widow nor 62, but we’re similar in our attitudes. I like to think that Freddie’s quiet cynicsm about life matches my own pretty well. And the way she talks to her dead husband really strikes a chord. I talk to my dead mother all the time.
4. Which authors have most influenced your writing?
In addition to those represented on my nightstand: Virginia Wolff, Raymond Carver, William Faulkner, and Flannery O’Connor.
5. What is your favorite scene in your novel?
Excellent question. I have a number of particular favorites. But if pressed, I’d say the one where Father Mark, the Episcopal priest, who is taking a leave of absence from the church, flies out from Las Vegas to visit the woman he’s in love with who ran away from him. Now, it’s a little complicated, because Father Mark is married. His wife has suffered a nervous breakdown, and is living at home with her family. Father Mark reflects on a conversation they had years before, when he told her about wanting to become a priest, and making the argument that the balance and order in the universe are proof of God’s existence. The wife – future wife – is the daughter of two scientists, also agnostics. She asks him “Why can’t the universe throw out brilliance?” This is her way of saying that yes, the universe is ordered and perfect, but why does that have to be God’s doing?
6. What do you think is your lead character’s best trait?
This brings us back to Freddie. I’d say what I admire most about her is her endurance, which at times borders on stoicism. And her bluntness, though this is a trait that took her years to develop and not be afraid of.
7. Are any characters in your book based on a real person?
As I mentioned in response to question number one, the character, Anna, whom we meet in Part Two, is closely based on my Armenian grandmother.
8. What is something your readers would be surprised to know about you?
I met Jimi Hendrix at the Newark Airport when I was nine years old. By “met” I mean that my older sister recognized him, charged over, and begged for an autograph. I was close behind, but we didn’t exchange any words. This was before Hendrix made it big, so he was unknown and easily approachable. My sister followed music pretty closely, so she was up to speed.
9. Where is your favorite place to write?
The only place I really write is my home office. It’s full of light, and picture of my children, and some absolutely charming fashion plates from 1912.
10. What did you want to be when you grew up?
A writer, then a concert pianist, then an historian, then an economic analyst. I returned to the idea of writing when I was 27. It’s what I’ve been doing ever since.
11. What is your favorite book of all time?
The Sound and The Fury, by William Faulkner. What he does with voice is amazing. Also how he makes time fluid – almost inexact – is very admirable.
12. When is your birthday?
January 14th. This is a terrible time to have a birthday – three weeks after Christmas, when people have moved beyond the generosity of the holidays, and the weather is always dreary. My other explained to me that the season of my birth was quite intentional. She was a professor at Cornell University, and wanted me to be born between semesters!
13. What is your dream vacation?
Probably spending a week at a boutique hotel in Manhattan.
14. Describe your writing style in three words.
Taut; intense; elegant.
15. When naming your characters, do you give any thought to the actual meaning?
Not really. Of course, the two original names of Freddie and her sister, Holly, (Faith and Hope) were important for their religious association.
16. What is your main character’s favorite song?
Freddie doesn’t strike me as much of a music lover!
17. Any recent works that you admire?
Lila, by Marilyn Robinson. It’s exquisite.
18. If you could co-write a book with any author, who would it be?
Again, Ms. Robinson.
19. How have your personal experiences affected your writing?
Frankly, pretty much everything and anything. I try to use it all. And what I see on any ordinary day – a person walking a dog on a street became a story; someone pushing an upright piano along a sidewalk was another story. Even something as small as the a woman holds her purse at the grocery store can be made into an entire life.
20. What is your writing process?
I start with the smallest sliver of an idea – sometimes just a scene, or an exchange between two people, even an object, and wonder what larger world those things might inhabit. I get some words on the page, and before too long, the story is telling me where it wants to go. I keep going for a while longer, and then take a break and assess what I’ve got. I like to pull out the subtext – the real, inner story, that’s peeking through the words. Then I restructure a bit, trying to fit everything together, and go forward. This gets repeated over and over until I’m happy with what’s on the page, and that can take a long time.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s guest professor, Lesley Kagen!
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