News
Being Honest in Words and Work: An Interview with Bethanne Patrick
Produced by Olubunmi Adeloye
June 1, 2023
In this interview, American University student Bunmi Anifowoshe-Ajibua and G&G contributor Bethanne Patrick discuss mental health, feminist writers, podcasting, and a love for the DC literary community.
BAA: What inspired you to write “Barbie Car”?
BP: I was thinking about this the other day because I sent the Barbie car to my daughter Eleanor and part of this story remains in my memoir. When I was about to give birth to Eleanor, my water broke, but the internist told me to go back home. You’re supposed to give birth within 24 hours of your water breaking, so 48 hours later, I told my husband I had to go back to the hospital. Eleanor went into fetal distress. She was eventually born healthy, but she had all of these things happen to her, like an emergency cesarean and difficulty with daycare, all of these things that felt like I couldn’t be in control, but I was supposed to be in control. That feeling of I'm supposed to protect this child with my entire heart and body and mind, but I can’t protect her from the world the way I want to.
BAA: Professor Scholes Young, who edits Grace in Love and teaches Literary Editing & publishing at American University, was thrilled to share “Barbie Car” with our class and community. What do you think the Grace & Gravity project means to literary D.C.?
BP: It’s just the most amazing thing for D.C. women writers. I contributed a short story to Amazing Grace when Richard Peabody was still the publisher and editor. I am surrounded by these talented women, and I get to connect with them. That has led me to a journey that led me not only to publishing in this new anthology but also teaching at AU through Melissa Scholes Young. I think it’s something that ties the feminist literary community together in this very beautiful, collaborative way. No one is on a high or low pedestal. Everyone is a writer and being considered and given places with the same dignity, respect, and consideration no matter who they are or what their background and degrees are. It’s really quite remarkable and I don’t know about another project like it.
BAA: I’m really happy to work on this project and I agree with the collaboration. Our class has been like that too.
BP: It’s pretty powerful isn’t it? I’m really happy that Professor Scholes Young has taken over and not only kept something going that deserved to keep going but also is doing her own fun stuff with it like the Humanities truck, the online “From the Attic” series, and working with local artists. She’s putting her own stamp on it, and I think it’s really delightful.
BAA: That’s actually connected to my next question. What does being a woman who writes mean to you?
BP: That’s such a beautiful question, thank you. The first thing that comes to my mind is power. One of my favorite writers Margaret Atwood said, “A word after a word after a word is power.” A woman telling stories gives us power. Not just individually but collectively as a community. The work of feminism isn’t done. We all know now that feminism isn’t just one thing, it’s not just white middle class women. And that’s another thing that’s amazing about Grace & Gravity, that’s it’s not just white middle class women. It’s intentionally diverse and inclusive. Trans women are women, and I believe that we need to support anyone who says that I am a woman. That’s why being a woman and a writer is important, and it means I am able to use my own writing to support other women.
BAA: You have a lot of experience in publishing. Do you have any advice for aspiring writers? And what was the most helpful thing you did at the start of your career?
BP: I do have a lot of experience in publishing in a very individual way. I was a military spouse, so I didn’t have the opportunity to live in Manhattan. I learned my way into publishing in my own time and with my own quirks and flaws. I love it. I love books in all forms not just printed but also audiobooks and digital books and podcasts. One thing that was important to me as a lesson early on was figuring out that publishing is a business and writing is not necessarily a business. You have to separate the writing that you do that really belongs to you, that is really your heart and your soul from whatever you get published. On the other hand, Grace & Gravity and other presses and anthonologies like it allow us to combine our creative selves and forces with what we might call business. Big money in publishing is lovely and I’m really glad when people get, but if you keep the two things separate, you remember that writing is its own reward.
For someone who wants to work in publishing, you should know where your own heart is taking you. I have friends that are so wonderful in the business part of the publishing industry. I know salespeople who are the most avid readers. My advice to young people is that you should remember what your heart is telling you. It’s okay if you’re not a business person, and you’re a creative. Even in this world where we’re thinking of things like ChatGPT and book banning and all kinds of problems, you will find a way if you follow your heart.
BAA: Do you have a favorite thing about living in DC when it comes to writing compared to anywhere else?
BP: One of the things I love about DC is how easy it is to feel like you can be in a natural setting because of the low buildings and the DMV region has so much natural beauty. I never feel boxed in even when I'm downtown like some cities feel. I can always find a green space. I really love that about DC. You can be in a neighborhood so quickly where people are really living. Kids in strollers and people on their way to the supermarket and church. When you’re a writer, living is what you do.
BAA: Your podcast Missing Pages have a lot of insider advice. What’s the most challenging part of hosting a podcast?
BP: You’re getting me, Bunmi. It’s a scripted show with really good producers, writers, and engineers and all of us have a part to play in it. Sometimes something goes wrong or we don’t get the story right or we need to figure out the story first before we start interviewing people. It’s very challenging and creative and in fact you asked a few minutes ago about advice for people who are in writing and publishing, and I want to say that I’m fascinated by the role that podcasts are taking in storytelling. Like many people I listen to podcasts but before actually being involved in the production of one, I didn’t realize how careful the actual production is and how this is a new way of storytelling. I don’t want to say that it’s the same thing as a book but some podcasts are so good that I think they’re actually literature. Podcasting is storytelling, it’s narrative, it’s so powerful.
BAA: Speaking of stories, what’s your absolute favorite book you’ve read recently? What was your all time favorite book as a child?
BP: Oh, my favorite questions! My favorite book recently is from a couple years ago but it’s called The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers. Jeffers is an accomplished poet and it’s almost an alternate history of the United States that weaves together indigenous Americans with enslaved people and communities like Mestizo and Creole. It tells the whole story of United States through the stories of people who were pushed to the margins in beautiful language. It’s one of the most important books I think that has come out in the past 5 years and I think if you ask me 5 years from now, I would say it’s one of the most important books of the early 21st century so that is a big big favorite. When it comes to old books from my childhood, I just ordered a copy of No Flying in the House. It was about a little girl that discovers because she could turn her elbow in and kiss it, she has inherited her family’s witch powers. Now she knows she’s a witch and they have to tell her no flying in the house. It’s a very charming book.
BAA: Let’s talk about your memoir. I know it’s about mental health and are you okay with speaking a bit about that in connection with your writing?
BP: Absolutely, and that’s something that’s really important to me. It’s called Life B, Overcoming with Double Depression and Life B. The reason I wrote the book and I decided to be so honest about my own struggle with depression and anxiety as mental illness is because I believe we have to break down the stigma about talking about these things. We have to be able to say what is actually happening when someone is not well mentally. It should be just the same way when someone is not well physically. If we don’t speak honestly about mental health problems, we’ll never be able to get things better for people who do have them. We should all be striving for mental wellness but we can’t control that or make everyone mentally healthy. We all have challenges. Someone like me can be open about it and I have managed to put together a life I really love. I have a lot of privilege on a lot of levels so if that privilege helps someone hear me and help someone understand mentally illness better then I have really done something.
Bethanne Patrick hosts the Missing Pages podcast and is a pillar of the publishing industry as a critic and as @TheBookMaven, where she shares her thoughts with over 200,000 followers. Her work regularly appears in the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NPR Books, Literary Hub, and other prestigious places. Patrick has served on the boards of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation and the National Book Critics Circle. Her memoir, Life B, will be published in May by Counterpoint Press. She shared “Barbie Car,” an unpublished excerpt of her memoir in Grace in Love, volume X of the Grace & Gravity project of D.C. area women writers.
Produced by Olubunmi Adeloye
June 1, 2023
In this interview, American University student Bunmi Anifowoshe-Ajibua and G&G contributor Bethanne Patrick discuss mental health, feminist writers, podcasting, and a love for the DC literary community.
BAA: What inspired you to write “Barbie Car”?
BP: I was thinking about this the other day because I sent the Barbie car to my daughter Eleanor and part of this story remains in my memoir. When I was about to give birth to Eleanor, my water broke, but the internist told me to go back home. You’re supposed to give birth within 24 hours of your water breaking, so 48 hours later, I told my husband I had to go back to the hospital. Eleanor went into fetal distress. She was eventually born healthy, but she had all of these things happen to her, like an emergency cesarean and difficulty with daycare, all of these things that felt like I couldn’t be in control, but I was supposed to be in control. That feeling of I'm supposed to protect this child with my entire heart and body and mind, but I can’t protect her from the world the way I want to.
BAA: Professor Scholes Young, who edits Grace in Love and teaches Literary Editing & publishing at American University, was thrilled to share “Barbie Car” with our class and community. What do you think the Grace & Gravity project means to literary D.C.?
BP: It’s just the most amazing thing for D.C. women writers. I contributed a short story to Amazing Grace when Richard Peabody was still the publisher and editor. I am surrounded by these talented women, and I get to connect with them. That has led me to a journey that led me not only to publishing in this new anthology but also teaching at AU through Melissa Scholes Young. I think it’s something that ties the feminist literary community together in this very beautiful, collaborative way. No one is on a high or low pedestal. Everyone is a writer and being considered and given places with the same dignity, respect, and consideration no matter who they are or what their background and degrees are. It’s really quite remarkable and I don’t know about another project like it.
BAA: I’m really happy to work on this project and I agree with the collaboration. Our class has been like that too.
BP: It’s pretty powerful isn’t it? I’m really happy that Professor Scholes Young has taken over and not only kept something going that deserved to keep going but also is doing her own fun stuff with it like the Humanities truck, the online “From the Attic” series, and working with local artists. She’s putting her own stamp on it, and I think it’s really delightful.
BAA: That’s actually connected to my next question. What does being a woman who writes mean to you?
BP: That’s such a beautiful question, thank you. The first thing that comes to my mind is power. One of my favorite writers Margaret Atwood said, “A word after a word after a word is power.” A woman telling stories gives us power. Not just individually but collectively as a community. The work of feminism isn’t done. We all know now that feminism isn’t just one thing, it’s not just white middle class women. And that’s another thing that’s amazing about Grace & Gravity, that’s it’s not just white middle class women. It’s intentionally diverse and inclusive. Trans women are women, and I believe that we need to support anyone who says that I am a woman. That’s why being a woman and a writer is important, and it means I am able to use my own writing to support other women.
BAA: You have a lot of experience in publishing. Do you have any advice for aspiring writers? And what was the most helpful thing you did at the start of your career?
BP: I do have a lot of experience in publishing in a very individual way. I was a military spouse, so I didn’t have the opportunity to live in Manhattan. I learned my way into publishing in my own time and with my own quirks and flaws. I love it. I love books in all forms not just printed but also audiobooks and digital books and podcasts. One thing that was important to me as a lesson early on was figuring out that publishing is a business and writing is not necessarily a business. You have to separate the writing that you do that really belongs to you, that is really your heart and your soul from whatever you get published. On the other hand, Grace & Gravity and other presses and anthonologies like it allow us to combine our creative selves and forces with what we might call business. Big money in publishing is lovely and I’m really glad when people get, but if you keep the two things separate, you remember that writing is its own reward.
For someone who wants to work in publishing, you should know where your own heart is taking you. I have friends that are so wonderful in the business part of the publishing industry. I know salespeople who are the most avid readers. My advice to young people is that you should remember what your heart is telling you. It’s okay if you’re not a business person, and you’re a creative. Even in this world where we’re thinking of things like ChatGPT and book banning and all kinds of problems, you will find a way if you follow your heart.
BAA: Do you have a favorite thing about living in DC when it comes to writing compared to anywhere else?
BP: One of the things I love about DC is how easy it is to feel like you can be in a natural setting because of the low buildings and the DMV region has so much natural beauty. I never feel boxed in even when I'm downtown like some cities feel. I can always find a green space. I really love that about DC. You can be in a neighborhood so quickly where people are really living. Kids in strollers and people on their way to the supermarket and church. When you’re a writer, living is what you do.
BAA: Your podcast Missing Pages have a lot of insider advice. What’s the most challenging part of hosting a podcast?
BP: You’re getting me, Bunmi. It’s a scripted show with really good producers, writers, and engineers and all of us have a part to play in it. Sometimes something goes wrong or we don’t get the story right or we need to figure out the story first before we start interviewing people. It’s very challenging and creative and in fact you asked a few minutes ago about advice for people who are in writing and publishing, and I want to say that I’m fascinated by the role that podcasts are taking in storytelling. Like many people I listen to podcasts but before actually being involved in the production of one, I didn’t realize how careful the actual production is and how this is a new way of storytelling. I don’t want to say that it’s the same thing as a book but some podcasts are so good that I think they’re actually literature. Podcasting is storytelling, it’s narrative, it’s so powerful.
BAA: Speaking of stories, what’s your absolute favorite book you’ve read recently? What was your all time favorite book as a child?
BP: Oh, my favorite questions! My favorite book recently is from a couple years ago but it’s called The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers. Jeffers is an accomplished poet and it’s almost an alternate history of the United States that weaves together indigenous Americans with enslaved people and communities like Mestizo and Creole. It tells the whole story of United States through the stories of people who were pushed to the margins in beautiful language. It’s one of the most important books I think that has come out in the past 5 years and I think if you ask me 5 years from now, I would say it’s one of the most important books of the early 21st century so that is a big big favorite. When it comes to old books from my childhood, I just ordered a copy of No Flying in the House. It was about a little girl that discovers because she could turn her elbow in and kiss it, she has inherited her family’s witch powers. Now she knows she’s a witch and they have to tell her no flying in the house. It’s a very charming book.
BAA: Let’s talk about your memoir. I know it’s about mental health and are you okay with speaking a bit about that in connection with your writing?
BP: Absolutely, and that’s something that’s really important to me. It’s called Life B, Overcoming with Double Depression and Life B. The reason I wrote the book and I decided to be so honest about my own struggle with depression and anxiety as mental illness is because I believe we have to break down the stigma about talking about these things. We have to be able to say what is actually happening when someone is not well mentally. It should be just the same way when someone is not well physically. If we don’t speak honestly about mental health problems, we’ll never be able to get things better for people who do have them. We should all be striving for mental wellness but we can’t control that or make everyone mentally healthy. We all have challenges. Someone like me can be open about it and I have managed to put together a life I really love. I have a lot of privilege on a lot of levels so if that privilege helps someone hear me and help someone understand mentally illness better then I have really done something.
Bethanne Patrick hosts the Missing Pages podcast and is a pillar of the publishing industry as a critic and as @TheBookMaven, where she shares her thoughts with over 200,000 followers. Her work regularly appears in the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NPR Books, Literary Hub, and other prestigious places. Patrick has served on the boards of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation and the National Book Critics Circle. Her memoir, Life B, will be published in May by Counterpoint Press. She shared “Barbie Car,” an unpublished excerpt of her memoir in Grace in Love, volume X of the Grace & Gravity project of D.C. area women writers.
Celebrating the Cracks: An Interview with Artist and Sculptor Maven Kahn
Produced by Alex Greenhill
May 16, 2023
In this interview, American University student Alex Greenhill and artist Maven Kahn discuss inspirations and influences for art and philosophy. Kahn also provides insight into her process of creating from found objects and the music that sustains her process.
Alex Greenhill: Your sculpture that Melissa Scholes Young, editor of Grace in Love, chose for the cover of the book is stunning. Tell me about the piece.
Maven Kahn: This sculpture is called Aurora the Guardian. It looks kind a majestic. I wanted it to embody strength and trans pride because that piece is a saint figure for folks who have to couch surf, people who are displaced because of their family or religious trauma or whatever. It’s not only a saint for trans folk, it’s basically a saint for street kids, maybe they are in between jobs, house-less and usually LGBT, foster kids like anyone who’s “fallen in between the cracks,” anyone who the system forgot. This is something for them. It was inspired by my experience in-between, being a trans person that was, not exactly homeless, but falling in between the cracks. I specifically left her in that presentation because it’s something I really care about. Folks celebrate each other because of who they are and not tearing each other apart because of it, you know? On the back of the sculpture, it has “I am tired, I’m fed up, I’m angry I want to die, but living is the most punk shit I’ve ever done.” That’s the message. A big part of my work is healing from past experiences and working to be better than the people who hurt me.”
AG: Who are the artists that inspire you?
MK: I take inspiration from a lot of people. I like some of the imagery in H.R. Giger’s work, and I do similar themes with a lot more color. Some of the Dada artists before World War II, before it became the surrealist movement. It might be cliche to say Marcel Duchamp because that’s what people think of but there were a lot of performance artists who had the same kind of feeling that I’m going for. I’m definitely inspired by Dabatha Christie, a local drag artist in DC. She does makeup similar to the make up I put on the sculpture. Also, the punk band “The Muslims.”
AG: Do you listen to music while you work?
MK: A lot of the time when I need to stay away from people, I listen to music. Some heavy aggressive queer stuff. I zone out, forget about the world for a little while. It’s a lot better than drinking or doing anything destructive.
AG: Our editor shared with our class, Literary Editing & Publishing at American University, that they loved your sculpture immediately. They built the book theme of love and grace around your work. How do you feel about your art being used on the cover for Grace and Love?
MK: I’m very honored that Melissa chose my work. I am also nervous because it’s nerve-racking to have your work out there. When people are allowed to have their own interpretations, you will be judged for your artwork. But if you wear your heart on a sleeve, people are going to poke it with a stick. So it’s a tender spot between being a tender open-hearted person and having enough armor to survive.
AG: What is your favorite medium to work in?
MK: It’s tricky because I didn’t grow up with art supplies. I acquired them in various ways, but I also would just pick stuff out of the gutter. I like found objects. I’d use those art supplies and incorporate them into my paints. I also like to work with metal and with 3D things. I really don’t like flat-looking things any more than I like sterile studio walls. Art should be overwhelming almost that you could lose yourself in it.
AG: What is the primary message that you want to show through your art?
MK: Art is a way to express joy in a physical form. Expressing joy is a form of the power of resistance. I think artwork, specifically around your experience, will help bring joy into the physical world because the alternative is dealing with pain and you have the power to change that. Joy has the power of resistance. The sculpture is a little cracked, a little crooked, but it’s about being joyful for who you are. There is power in who you are. Society will try to take that away from you, and but look at how beautiful you’ve become.
Alex Greenhill is a Nicaraguan-American sci-fi and fantasy author based in Washington, DC. Alex has been writing novel-length fiction since he was fifteen. “Frankenshop” is about the classic Universal Monsters that captivated him as a child; through their stories, Alex learned to embrace all facets of his identity, including his cerebral palsy, and have more empathy for himself and others. His latest manuscript, “The Madness from Beyond,” subverts readers expectations through parodies of the horror and sci-fi genres as well as Lovecraft’s writing style.
Maven Kahn is an outsider artist specializing in sculpture and mixed media. She has worked with the Washington Glass School for many years, interned with jeweler Nick Barnes, and has worked with VisArts since 2016. She had a solo show in the Common Ground Gallery at VisArts in August 2018 and has been part of many group art shows and started teaching at VisArts in spring 2023.
Produced by Alex Greenhill
May 16, 2023
In this interview, American University student Alex Greenhill and artist Maven Kahn discuss inspirations and influences for art and philosophy. Kahn also provides insight into her process of creating from found objects and the music that sustains her process.
Alex Greenhill: Your sculpture that Melissa Scholes Young, editor of Grace in Love, chose for the cover of the book is stunning. Tell me about the piece.
Maven Kahn: This sculpture is called Aurora the Guardian. It looks kind a majestic. I wanted it to embody strength and trans pride because that piece is a saint figure for folks who have to couch surf, people who are displaced because of their family or religious trauma or whatever. It’s not only a saint for trans folk, it’s basically a saint for street kids, maybe they are in between jobs, house-less and usually LGBT, foster kids like anyone who’s “fallen in between the cracks,” anyone who the system forgot. This is something for them. It was inspired by my experience in-between, being a trans person that was, not exactly homeless, but falling in between the cracks. I specifically left her in that presentation because it’s something I really care about. Folks celebrate each other because of who they are and not tearing each other apart because of it, you know? On the back of the sculpture, it has “I am tired, I’m fed up, I’m angry I want to die, but living is the most punk shit I’ve ever done.” That’s the message. A big part of my work is healing from past experiences and working to be better than the people who hurt me.”
AG: Who are the artists that inspire you?
MK: I take inspiration from a lot of people. I like some of the imagery in H.R. Giger’s work, and I do similar themes with a lot more color. Some of the Dada artists before World War II, before it became the surrealist movement. It might be cliche to say Marcel Duchamp because that’s what people think of but there were a lot of performance artists who had the same kind of feeling that I’m going for. I’m definitely inspired by Dabatha Christie, a local drag artist in DC. She does makeup similar to the make up I put on the sculpture. Also, the punk band “The Muslims.”
AG: Do you listen to music while you work?
MK: A lot of the time when I need to stay away from people, I listen to music. Some heavy aggressive queer stuff. I zone out, forget about the world for a little while. It’s a lot better than drinking or doing anything destructive.
AG: Our editor shared with our class, Literary Editing & Publishing at American University, that they loved your sculpture immediately. They built the book theme of love and grace around your work. How do you feel about your art being used on the cover for Grace and Love?
MK: I’m very honored that Melissa chose my work. I am also nervous because it’s nerve-racking to have your work out there. When people are allowed to have their own interpretations, you will be judged for your artwork. But if you wear your heart on a sleeve, people are going to poke it with a stick. So it’s a tender spot between being a tender open-hearted person and having enough armor to survive.
AG: What is your favorite medium to work in?
MK: It’s tricky because I didn’t grow up with art supplies. I acquired them in various ways, but I also would just pick stuff out of the gutter. I like found objects. I’d use those art supplies and incorporate them into my paints. I also like to work with metal and with 3D things. I really don’t like flat-looking things any more than I like sterile studio walls. Art should be overwhelming almost that you could lose yourself in it.
AG: What is the primary message that you want to show through your art?
MK: Art is a way to express joy in a physical form. Expressing joy is a form of the power of resistance. I think artwork, specifically around your experience, will help bring joy into the physical world because the alternative is dealing with pain and you have the power to change that. Joy has the power of resistance. The sculpture is a little cracked, a little crooked, but it’s about being joyful for who you are. There is power in who you are. Society will try to take that away from you, and but look at how beautiful you’ve become.
Alex Greenhill is a Nicaraguan-American sci-fi and fantasy author based in Washington, DC. Alex has been writing novel-length fiction since he was fifteen. “Frankenshop” is about the classic Universal Monsters that captivated him as a child; through their stories, Alex learned to embrace all facets of his identity, including his cerebral palsy, and have more empathy for himself and others. His latest manuscript, “The Madness from Beyond,” subverts readers expectations through parodies of the horror and sci-fi genres as well as Lovecraft’s writing style.
Maven Kahn is an outsider artist specializing in sculpture and mixed media. She has worked with the Washington Glass School for many years, interned with jeweler Nick Barnes, and has worked with VisArts since 2016. She had a solo show in the Common Ground Gallery at VisArts in August 2018 and has been part of many group art shows and started teaching at VisArts in spring 2023.
WAMU: The Kojo Nnamdi Show
"D.C.’s Literary Women Are The Force Behind 'Furious Gravity'"
Produced by Julie Depenbrock
May 14, 2020
"D.C.’s Literary Women Are The Force Behind 'Furious Gravity'"
Produced by Julie Depenbrock
May 14, 2020
Politics and Prose
"'Furious Gravity: Grace & Gravity Volume IX' Launch – a conversation with Melissa Scholes Young, Mary Kay Zuravleff and Tara Campbell"
By Politics and Prose
May 10, 2020
"'Furious Gravity: Grace & Gravity Volume IX' Launch – a conversation with Melissa Scholes Young, Mary Kay Zuravleff and Tara Campbell"
By Politics and Prose
May 10, 2020
Washingtonian
"Writing Through the Pandemic: Novelist Mary Kay Zuravleff on the New Daily Rhythm"
By Mary Kay Zuravleff
May 5, 2020
"Writing Through the Pandemic: Novelist Mary Kay Zuravleff on the New Daily Rhythm"
By Mary Kay Zuravleff
May 5, 2020
Medium
"'In Solitude with Bright Colors': A DC Artist’s Journey to Self-Expression and Community"
By Matt Leistra
May 2, 2020
"'In Solitude with Bright Colors': A DC Artist’s Journey to Self-Expression and Community"
By Matt Leistra
May 2, 2020
The Writer's Center
"Necessary Stories: A preview of Furious Gravity, an anthology of DC Women Writers"
Amy Freeman in conversation with editor Melissa Scholes Young
Summer 2020 pp. 35-36
"Necessary Stories: A preview of Furious Gravity, an anthology of DC Women Writers"
Amy Freeman in conversation with editor Melissa Scholes Young
Summer 2020 pp. 35-36
