Interview with Michelle Tea

Hugo House:  In a few weeks you'll be debuting a brand-new piece at Hugo House-have you started working on it yet?

Michelle Tea:  I'm working on outlines for a few different pieces, some fiction and some non-fiction, and seeing what seems like it comes together in the most inspiring way!

HH:  Can you give us a hint of how you're approaching the theme of "Answered Prayers and Other Tragedies"--  Literally? Figuratively? Prose? Poetry? Interpretive Dance? None of the Above?

MT:  Well, literally for sure, since that's always my first impulse! But I have been knocking around some fictional stories that would gel with the theme quite nicely, and so far one of those ideas is in the lead. 

HH:  What were your first thoughts on receiving an invitation to write to an assigned theme? Any regrets on saying yes?

MT:  No regrets! It's proving to be quite challenging, but it's good to invite challenges into your writing process. I haven't been made to write on an assigned theme in many years. Although some terrible part of me always rebels against anything I am ever assigned, ever, I know that some of my favorite things I've written have come out of being asked to write on a theme I wouldn't have thought of on my own. So that's exciting. Also, I'm terribly psyched to get to read at Hugo House, and with the amazing Sherman Alexie!

HH:  Could you tell us a little bit about your process-how you approach writing something new?

MT:  I sit down and make a list of possibilities, and from that list I flush it out, like writing a treatment - a synopsis about what the story is, where it would go, be it fiction or memoir. Then I let it sit a minute (or some days) and come back and see what feels the most fun/inspired/challenging, and start digging into it.

HH:  Tell us 3 non-literary things we don't know about you.

MT:  I have a bald spot on the back of my head from where a birth mark was removed when I was a child. I read tarot cards. Deep fried plantains are my favorite food.

Michelle Tea will read new work at "Answered Prayers and Other Tragedies" on March 28, 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall. For tickets, please visit www.brownpapertickets.com.