Patricia Debney interview

This interview with Patricia Debney was first published in December 2007. Patricia Debney is the author of Losing You. You can find out even more about the author by visiting our Patricia Debney page.

Where were you born and raised?

I was born in Austin, Texas, and lived the first six years of my life in various bits of Texas: Austin, San Antonio, Beaumont. When I was six I moved to Southwestern Virginia, in the Blue Ridge Mountains -- to Blacksburg, home of Virginia Tech and that horrible recent shooting incident. I lived in Blacksburg (with frequent trips to the nearby metropolis of Roanoke) until I went to university at 18.

What was it that first got you into writing and when did you start writing?

I began keeping a journal when I was ten years old, and probably started writing poetry soon after. My clearest memory of my first work is that it was inspired by what I was reading, what it revealed to me about life. I wanted to share in it by expressing my

own feelings, what I noticed and wondered about life… almost as if I wanted to join a community of writers and writing. I knew from a very young age that literature held all the answers for me, would liberate me.

Beyond reading, I do remember one instance of seeing people pass on a Greyhound bus – and knowing with a real, crashing certainty that they had lives too, complicated ones like mine. They were leaving, or going someplace, and had friends, loves, problems, etc… I remember finding it overwhelming – and comforting. I was taken out of myself. Soon after, I also began more narrative work. I must have been about eleven.

Which writers have influenced you the most?

Stylistically, I’m influenced by Raymond Carver, Flannery O’Connor and Eudora Welty, but I’m also drawn subject-wise to Southern gothic work by writers like William Styron and William Faulkner. And I’m very, very intrigued by the way that writers like Virginia Woolf and Ali Smith experiment with point of view and time in their work.

Whether these influences are recognised by others is another question. Certainly my work has been compared to Carver’s more than once. But there is too a psychologically resonant, mythic, almost hyper-lucid element to it which attracts comparisons with Far Eastern writing too, which I find interesting.

What kind of things do you write?

I write prose poems, short stories, short novels, and memoir. I have also written opera libretti.

What are you working on now?

Unsurprisingly, three projects: another short novel (sequel-ish to Losing You), a memoir, and a second collection of prose poems.

What is your writing day like?

When I’m writing full swing, I will write nearly every day first thing in the morning (from 8 am) for three or four hours, and long to write the days I can’t manage it. This is true only for the longer works like novels and memoir work. When I write short stories the runs of time are shorter: I will draft a story in one day, then work on it on and off over several weeks, but usually completing one whole draft at a time. The time of day I write doesn't seem to be as important with short stories, I suppose because I don't have to hold as much in my head at once, so perhaps don't have to keep recreating the 'writing space' exactly....

With poetry, I tend to splurge several at once in draft form – so, a morning’s work – and then return to them over and over, even for just a few minutes at a time, over weeks and months. I sometimes work in odd places and at odd times – while cooking dinner, for instance. Poetry in particular lends itself to sporadic writing, ten minute attacks.

I can however write over enormously concentrated times if needs be. I finalised half of my poetry collection, for instance, in one month. If I go away for a few days to write, as I did recently, I draft for seven hours a day. This time I ended up writing eight poems, thoroughly outlining the novel, and making a six thousand word start on it....

The worst thing I can do is not to write for any length of time. Not only do I become depressed and purposeless, but when I return to work I am sluggish and lacking focus, very slow.

What’s the most exciting thing about writing for you?

Capturing something in words (whether out of a fictional or real situation) which, when you read it, produces a flash of recognition. Bringing groundwater to the surface, however briefly.

What’s the most frustrating thing about writing for you?

I have fleeting moments of frustration when I can’t get something right (or what I perceive as ‘right’ – usually this means I’m actually trying to do the wrong thing). My lasting frustrations are more to do with the ‘writing world’ or ‘being a writer’: having

enough money to fund enough time to write; publishing; reaching an audience…

What’s the best piece of feedback that you’ve had from your audience?

I’m lucky enough to have had many, many satisfying moments of feedback about my work, the most striking of which actually serve to remind me of why I wrote a piece in the first place; in other words, the reader is where I was when I wrote the piece. Although this happens time and again, I still find it a welcome surprise.

The single most thrilling comment I’ve had, however, is about Losing You: since its hardback publication six months ago, I've been contacted by a about a dozen complete or nearly complete strangers to say how much they enjoyed the book – and more, *that they couldn’t put it down*. Many seem to read the novel in one sitting. My own measure of a book I love is one that takes me somewhere else, so that I emerge from it x number of hours later -- a little shaken or disoriented, perhaps! I'm flattered if Losing You (and any of my other work) does that sometimes....

Do you write for a particular audience, or is your first priority to satisfy your own creativity?

I’ve always written first to satisfy my own creativity. Over the years -- as it’s become more clear the sort of work that strikes people -- I think my work has inevitably grown into itself and taken more risks, gained confidence. I’ve begun to imagine an audience that will welcome the work that I start out writing for myself.

Do you have a homepage? Do you have any short stories or poems published online? (If so, please provide the URLs):

Yes, my homepage is http://patriciadebney.wordpress.com. There are examples of my poetry, short stories, memoir and longer fiction there, along with a well-maintained blog (!) and notice of upcoming events. This year as Canterbury Laureate I'm very involved in festivals, so my homepage is the place where I keep track of readings, workshops, competitions, etc.

I have several pieces online, one at http://www.decongested.com/, and some on the University of

Kent website, www.kent.ac.uk/english. There is also a downloadable recording of me reading a piece at http://www.apisbooks.com/download.

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