Interview with Suzanne Strempek Shea and Tom Shea
On today's blog we are very pleased to feature an interview conducted by Sandy Chmiel with Suzanne Strempek Shea, Bay Path's Writer-in-Residence and the lead facilitator of the MFA Ireland Seminar, and her husband and fellow writer Tom Shea.
You
will both be taking part in Bay Path University’s Creative Writing Seminar in Dingle, Ireland again this year. Can you tell us why you chose Dingle?
SSS We’d
been there many times due to Tommy’s parents growing up there and one of his
sisters living there, plus many other relatives to visit – on top of that, it’s
simply a truly gorgeous part of the world and I felt immediately at home on my
first visit, back in 1988. Every one of my nearly annual trips has
included writing, on my own, in conferences, for a freelance piece or book
project. I find such an air of inspiration, and also acceptance of creative lives,
souls, and endeavors. Plus, the literary culture is strong, revered, a fact of
the country’s history. When we were thinking of the perfect place to meet with
our writers, Dingle came immediately to mind.
TS My parents are from the Dingle area. It
is just a beautiful piece of earth with a great writer’s vibe. Writing and
storytelling are alive and well in the west of Ireland. (It might help
that rain is no stranger in Ireland!) Dingle also has two world-class
bookstores.
What
are some memorable “snapshots” from last year’s seminar?
SSS The buzz in the room when we all met for lectures, the wide
eyes taking in the view of the harbor, the mountains, Slea Head. The pride as
participants did the final-night reading at a bookstore in town.
TS My favorite snapshot from last year was coming down for breakfast. Not the
food, though the food was great – do try the black sausages – but the buzz in
the breakfast room. It was the contagious hum of people excited about what they
were doing and about to do. It was the sound of people making new friends.
What
did you most enjoy about the
seminar in Ireland?
SSS Getting to expose others to this very magical
place, and to see how it truly transforms them and their work. Because we are
familiar with the town and area, we don’t worry much about not having the
answers to participants’ questions about what’s where and what to do in their
spare time, how to find this or that. We feel centered, we can be helpful, and
we can focus on the students and work rather than Googling the locations of the
nearest copy shop.
TS The workshops. I was
simply blown away by the talent. All the right words in all the right places.
And the subject matter. Powerful stuff. I was honored to be in the same room.
What,
if anything, will be different at this year’s seminar?
SSS We will have Leanna James Blackwell, the MFA program
director, along to lead workshops in playwriting. In keeping with that theme,
we’ll also have a performance by Curlew Theater of Connemara. It’s exciting to
add a new option to the mix of nonfiction, fiction, and poetry, and it’s going
to be wonderful to have Leanna along.
TS Leanna is doing a
workshop on playwriting. And there will be at least two plays. And the
stories will be different. They always are!
What
are each of you currently at work on?
SSS I’m working on a collaborative project with
Susan Tilton Pecora – she and I volunteer at Blue Star Equiculture, a draft
horse rescue in Bondsville, right down the street from our houses. We spent
last year writing (my part) and painting (her part) moments from a year at the
farm. We hope to have the resulting book out as a fundraiser for the farm. Next
March I will celebrate the launch of a collection of soap opera essays by writers
obsessed by such shows. I’m co-editing that with my literary soul sister
Elizabeth Searle, a novelist, essayist, and librettist who lives in Arlington.
Some Writers’ Day regulars would have met Elizabeth at a talk she gave at the
event a few years ago.
TS I’m working on a
biography of a priest, kind of lost to history, who was an important person in
the 12-step movement. (I’ll also be promoting Dingers, a book about baseball that will be out in April, which I
co-wrote with Joshua Shifren.)
Will
you each tell us something about the other that inspires you?
SSS Tommy simply is the kindest, most goodhearted
and real soul I’ve ever met. He also lives for the written word; reading and
writing are enormous parts of his life and day. He was like that when I met him
in 1974, and he’s like that just this morning. He makes me want to be a better
person, writer, better everything. It’s no cliché when I say I feel like the
luckiest person to be his person.
TS Suzanne’s discipline
in getting her work done. Her power to put herself in front of the screen and
work. No ifs, or...she does her work, be it two pages a day or working on
something for three hours. Then it is back again tomorrow. And the day after…and
the day after that…
Is
there anything else you would like to share?
SSS We did enjoy seeing the connections made
between MFA students who otherwise only knew one another long distance. That
and bonds made with non-MFA students, too, just so nice to witness. We had a
lovely group and are anticipating the same this year.
TS What was really holy
about Dingle last year was the camaraderie. Writing can be often
isolating and lonely. Dingle can help shake off those feelings along with
providing nothing but inspiration when you come home.
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