Where I Write, a series of short interviews with current students, faculty, and alumni of the Creative Writing Program. It is a discussion of place in writing. What our writing spaces look like can be as varied as the physical spaces that exist (or don't!) in New York and beyond, and as varied as the mental and psychic spaces we occupy while we write. 

This week's post is a guest contribution that comes from Younis Bin Azeem. Younis is a second-year creative writing student at The New School. He hails from Islamabad, and writes fiction centered around the experiences of growing up in urban Pakistan. Younis lives for smuggled cigarettes, drip coffee, hot takes, and lowering the bar. Thankfully, he does not tweet.

Dylan invited me to his apartment at 1:45 AM for this interview. When I got there, he requested me to join him for a cigarette under a window he’d cracked open, overlooking the shifting trees of Chelsea’s 22nd Street.

Younis Bin Azeem: Is this Kosher? [Points towards the cigarette and the smoke oozing into the apartment]

Dylan Thomas Zamos: I do it all the time. [Pauses] Well, there was this one time when a neighbor left some less than pleasant post it notes on the elevator door which are now displayed proudly on the fridge[motions over to the fridge door].

YBA: [Laughs] Okay then. So, Dylan, you finished your first undergrad in Political Science at 19?

DTZ: That’s correct.

YBA: Then you went on to a do job in politics before returning to do a second degree in English?

DTZ: Mm-hmm.

YBA: So, what prompted this?

DTZ: Well, the first degree I was interested in. Conceptually. I graduated High School in 2017 so that election was fresh on everyone’s mind, mine included. When I entered the actual field though I was disgusted with the nepotism and the corruption that was rampant. I worked in Florida which is essentially a one-party state. No bill passed without the approval of Republican leadership, and there was no counterweight to anything. The entire workplace culture was built around one-upping others without any concern for the personal cost involved. I found myself becoming a person who was always looking over my shoulder, anticipating the next backstab.

[A car alarm goes off in the street as Dylan leans over and ashes into the night]

YBA: That explains leaving the politics, but why the second Bachelors in English?

DTZ: I always had creative pursuits; I’d done music for ten years at that point and had written as a hobby. I had some friends who had done creative writing workshops at UF and really recommended them, so I decided to go back and take a semester of Creative Writing and English classes and ended up falling in love with it. 

YBA: Was that also what made you enroll into an MFA degree right after you graduated?

DTZ: I had an incredible instructor who was doing his MFA at UF. He had a somewhat similar career path as mine and used to work at a PR firm right here in New York. He ended up also having a crisis of faith and decided to pursue an MFA. That really inspired me to give it a shot, and by the time I was finishing my English degree I was also taking and enjoying upper division classes with MFA faculty at UF. I applied to several places and ended up choosing The New School.

YBA: Was being in New York a big part of that decision?

DTZ: Oh, one hundred percent. I visited New York once in High School and remember falling absolutely in love, especially with how people seemed to live. As a creative it’s a much more conducive place and for the first time in my life I’m around likeminded people; there’s no taboo around the art degrees or focusing on your work rather than focusing on what brings you great social status or what’s most profitable which is what I was used to in Florida.

YBA: You’ve been around the block. From Pittsburgh to Maine to all over Florida and now here. How big is the influence of location on your work?

DTZ: Well, most of my fiction actually revolves around small towns because that’s where I’ve spent the majority of my adult life, but since coming here I’ve started to explore the contrast between city and rural life within my writing.

YBA: The New School has several concentration options. What drew you to fiction?

DTZ: Practice more than anything. I don’t think I have good enough of a story for Non-Fiction. While I do write poetry, it’s something more personal which I don’t intend to send for publication. Fiction is the best of both worlds; it can be both incredibly personal and act as an effective medium for what I hope to communicate. Hopefully it resonates with other people. 

YBA: What do you hope people take away when they read your work?

DTZ: I want people to find some sort of emotional connection with the piece. I’m not looking to send some sort of a message across: I prefer my stories to be ambiguous with no moralizing. The works which have had the greatest impact on me have always been those with which I have connected to emotionally rather than cerebrally. Some of my favorite compliments on my stories have always been people saying that they know the characters I’m talking about. It’s the highest of praise when others can connect to these characters while having lived a life very different from my own.

YBA: Your last story, “The Ribbon Collector”, made heavy and wonderful use of magical realism. Would you say that is the category most of your work might fall into?

DTZ: I feel like realistic or semi realistic stories are the ones which are actually more in my lane. The Ribbon Collector was my first full on magical realism story. I’d definitely be interested in writing more though; my biggest inspirations are magical realists, namely Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Isabel Allende. And while more surrealist than magical realist, Kafka has also had a huge influence on me. What draws me to magical realism is that it’s true to the absurdities of our waking life. Strange things happen all the time, especially here in New York, and you never know the reason why or the explanation behind it; you have no choice but to accept it. In a strange way, magical realism is much more realism than magical; just tapping into that which doesn’t need an explanation because it’s existence is explanation enough. 

YBA: Do you have a specific place where you write your stories? Where you feel like you get the most done?

DTZ: I usually work at my kitchen counter or my desk [motions to the desk behind us: a dark wooden desk with a desktop computer placed on it]. Actually, that desk is where I wrote The Ribbon Collector. 

YBA: Is there something specific about your desk which makes it your writing place of choice?

DTZ: Honestly, outside the fact that it’s a desk and it’s in my apartment, nothing. I like to write in a place with minimal distractions so there’s nothing there which I’ve kept for inspiration or anything like that. Well, there is a Georgia O’Keefe painting hanging over the desk but that’s about it. 

YBA: You’ve seen a lot of school for how young you are. Do you see yourself gearing towards an academic life?

DTZ: I definitely want to pursue some sort of a career in teaching. The most influential people in my life, the reason I’ve chosen to pursue an MFA, have been my professors. I feel, well [pauses] not an obligation, but definitely a desire to pass that on.

YBA: What does the future hold for your writing? Any plans for a novel?

DTZ: I have a couple of novel ideas churning around but who doesn’t? It’s New York. Short stories are much more of my forte though and currently I’m working on a collection which I hope to eventually get published.

YBA: I have some slightly digressive questions which I'd love for us to end on, the first being how does it feel to be named after Dylan Thomas. Would you say that might have perhaps inspired you to go down this path?

DTZ: My mom adored Dylan Thomas as a poet but it’s also the middle name I share with my father. I actually never read Dylan Thomas till late high school. I don’t think there’s much correlation with the name making me a writer any more than being called Bob Dylan would have made me a musician.

YBA: If you could write in any space, real or imagined, where would that be? What would that look like?

DTZ: Honestly, it’d just be an empty room with a chair: to minimize distractions. Perhaps it would be nice if it overlooked some trees, a quiet forest.

YBA: Last question. What’s your favorite cigarette?

DTZ: [laughs] The very first cigarette I smoked was a Marlboro Red which I keep coming back to. I’m also partial to Camel Reds, and menthols are good in moderation. Ask me again tomorrow; I’ll have a different answer.

Dylan Thomas Zamos is a first-year creative writing student at The New School. He holds two college degrees from the University of Florida, one in Political Science and the other in English. He is not yet 23.

Where I Write, a series of short interviews with current students, faculty, and alumni of the Creative Writing Program. It is a discussion of place in writing. What our writing spaces look like can be as varied as the physical spaces that exist (or don't!) in New York and beyond, and as varied as the mental and psychic spaces we occupy while we write. MFA in poetry 2022, Crysta Garcia shares her cocktail for getting the writing down from pen to paper.

Where do you write?

I mostly write anywhere in my room: my bed, the floor, and of course, my desk. It just depends on what’s comfortable in that moment and feeling like I’m in my own personal space as much as possible. What’s more important about where I write is that it has to happen in my journal and then it will eventually be typed up. 

Stand, sit or other?

Sitting, always sitting. My body interacts by just putting pen to paper and feeling everything coming from my body. Sometimes I’ll write after a run or meditating to clear my mind and focus on what I’m writing.

What is your writing practice?

I usually write in very quick bursts. I’ll sit down and write in my journal for 10-15 minutes about whatever is on my mind, an idea or line I may have had in my head, or sometimes a response to another piece of art, usually music or something in another text. I almost never type up my journal immediately after writing it. I’ll let it sit for a few weeks or months and then type of groups of poems at a time, while editing each one. Later on, I’ll revise.

What are your favorite procrastinations?

My favorite distraction is definitely watching tv, specifically binge watching Grey’s Anatomy even though I’ve seen it multiple times already.

We live in interesting times, which book/author keeps you sane/grounded?

I don’t have a specific book but I usually like to read mysteries to take my mind off what’s happening in the world. If I need to be grounded quickly music is the way to go for me, Jhené Aiko specifically.

What is your new skill learned during the shutdowns of the Pandemic

Making cocktails!

What is your dream writing space?

My dream writing space would be a cozy window nook. I’d like to be able to look outside, but still be comfortable and have books within reach. 

Crysta Garcia is a MFA candidate concentrating in poetry. The New York native graduated from the University at Albany majoring in journalism and sociology and currently teaches elementary school reading. She’s interested in poetry that breaks form and combines different aspects of identity with moments of self-reflection and expression.

Where I Write, a series of short interviews with current students, faculty, and alumni of the Creative Writing Program. It is a discussion of place in writing. What our writing spaces look like can be as varied as the physical spaces that exist (or don't!) in New York and beyond, and as varied as the mental and psychic spaces we occupy while we write. Share in the infinite of productivity and procrastination with MFA student Stone Mims, dual in fiction and Writing for Children and Young Adults.

Where do you write?

I pretty much write everywhere, usually in my room or my office at work. I guess my favorite place would be my little work desk. It’s been the site of both infinite procrastination via PS4 and infinite productivity in the revision process. It’s really 50/50

Stand, sit or other?

I hunch over my computer or notebook with the weight of the infinite student loans I’ve taken out pressing firmly on my vertebra. But in all seriousness, I do find that I lean really far in when I write, as though I can like join my characters through the pages or something.

What is your writing practice?

I usually wait until the words come to me and then sit and write. This is a generous way of saying that I usually have writer’s block and I have these spurts of motivation where I feel compelled to write at once. Picture vomit, but with your keyboard instead of your throat. 

What are your favorite procrastinations?

I will watch The Good Place or the Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon several times in a row before I write anything. I also am a huge fan of blowing my entire paychecks on Door Dash for (what some would consider to be cheap, but for me and my malnourished wallet is very expensive) Indian Food.

We live in interesting times, which book/author keeps you sane/grounded?

I read a lot of James Baldwin these days--partly for thesis, but also because he just has this uncanny way of speaking beyond his time into the present moment. There’s something deeply prophetic lingering in his words and I often feel affirmed in the knowledge that the conditions of LWB (Living While Black) have not changed in the last few decades. Basically, he makes me feel valid in my own frustrations. 

What is your new skill learned during the shutdowns of the Pandemic

All I learned during the pandemic is how to increase jean size by like at least 3-4 inches. 

What is your dream writing space?

I’ve always wanted to grow up to be Old Man Mims and have this black house with an iron gate and have the kids who play outside like toss a ball over my fence and know that they can’t get it because “Old Man Mims lives there.” And in this house, I would live alone as a recluse from the world and only out a novel every ten years or so. And a black limo with my driver, Chives will show up to this Black mansion and ring the doorbell and I’ll stick my hand out and drop a manuscript in it and that will be my only human interaction until the next time Chives returns. But yeah this is my ideal writing space--this black ominous iron gated house.

Stone Mims is an MFA Candidate for the class of 2022 concentrating in Fiction and Writing for Children and Young Adults. Born in Atlanta, Stone enjoys writing fictional stories that blend racial allegory and Science-Fiction. He’s worked as a Diversity officer at Bard College and a freelance journalist at cracked.com and rolling out magazine. He is currently represented at Serendipity Literary Agency.

Where I Write, a series of short interviews with current students, faculty, and alumni of the Creative Writing Program. It is a discussion of place in writing. What our writing spaces look like can be as varied as the physical spaces that exist (or don't!) in New York and beyond, and as varied as the mental and psychic spaces we occupy while we write. Write through the noise with MFA in fiction and nonfiction Ola Jacunski.

Where do you write?

It depends. If I manage to block off my mornings like I promise myself I always will, I write in the office I rent in the Flatiron district. If I don’t—and that’s usually the case—I write with my laptop balanced on my crossed legs, curled up in one of the gray chairs, as my last bit of productivity for the day. The TV is usually playing whatever show my husband has fallen asleep to and I can see the Empire State Building from the window. Before the pandemic, I would love taking my laptop to one local bar on weekends and write through the noise; I’ve taken to bringing my laptop to a different one on Fridays, when I’m heading home from the office, and sitting outside to write. That’s been lovely, especially since they make a mean negroni.

Stand, sit or other?

Curled up, bent around itself at all angles, usually. When I’m trying to finish writing on a deadline, though, I’m either standing—my longest stretch of writing in that position is about 5,000 words, in my bedroom during June 2020, with my laptop perched on one of the open drawers of my wardrobe—or sprawled out on the rug in the living room, sometimes face down, my arms outstretched in front of me like a sad superman, half-asleep but still typing (and sometimes, the words even make sense!)

What is your writing practice?

All spurts and stops. I fall into a habit for a few weeks or months, and then my brain rebels and I need to change to something new. I don’t do well with long-term routines, even though I crave (/desperately need) them in the short term. But I try to always set a word goal, something to work towards—I’m stupidly competitive, so most days, I blow right past it; on the days I can’t, I know I've written enough. Once I have a first draft, I have (sometimes) figured out what I actually want to say and end up cutting some 60% of what I’ve written.

What are your favorite procrastinations?

Video games first and foremost. Unfortunately, I’m taking a fantastic class this semester called Game Design as Play Design and our homework always includes a video game for a few hours a week—so, that. I’ve been trying to play a different one each week: Disco Elysium, Dragon Age: Origins, What Remains of Edith Finch… it’s been fantastic to explore so many different creations. I’ve also gotten really into Beat Saber on my Oculus, and that’s been a great way to break away for 15 minutes and get rid of some pent-up energy. And there’s always some kind of game on my phone that I get obsessed with for a few days or weeks until I hate both it and myself and delete it in a fit. 

We live in interesting times, which book/author keeps you sane/grounded?

This is going to sound sappy, but it’s really been seeing other students’ work during the program. I think watching people write through all of this—people I’m lucky enough to call my classmates or even, sometimes, friends—has helped immensely because it’s both feeling like I’m witnessing, in real time, the creation of beauty in the world, and being given permission to create on my own. I’m very grateful for that.

What is your new skill learned during the shutdowns of the Pandemic

I’ve learned to say no to both others and myself. I’m not very good at it yet, but I tend to get in over my head jumping into six million different activities and responsibilities. The pandemic has helped me learn to ask myself, Is this something I need to be doing now? What do I have to not do to make time for this? It hasn’t really helped me be any less of a chicken running around with its head cut off, but I think I’m… slightly?... less of a mess than I would otherwise be. Please don’t disillusion me.

What is your dream writing space?

A teeny-tiny one-room cottage on the grounds of some (slightly larger) house upstate. It will be mostly windows and desk and the walls that aren’t glass will be covered with all the art I’ve bought at Comic Con that I don’t have space to hand right now. In the winter, it will be bitterly cold and I will complain about it incessantly until someone complains about how cold it is, at which point I will say, “Psh, that’s nothing,” like a true Canadian. In the summer, it will be far too hot for anyone to want to venture outside and bother me, which will suit me just fine.

Aleksandra Hill (Ola Jacunski) is a Polish-Canadian writer of speculative fiction and the founder and editor-in-chief of khōréō magazine. She earned a Ph.D. in computational biology from Columbia University and is currently pursuing an MFA in fiction and non-fiction at the New School. She is also an alumna of the Odyssey Writers Workshop. You can find her on Twitter at @_aleksandrahill. 

Writing spaces are as varied as the individuals who occupy them. The range of “space” we enter for our writing practice is a wide, wild field from tidy to random, from Maya Angelou in a sparse hotel room to Marcel Proust in bed, from Jane Austen at the kitchen table to you: what does your writing space look like? Put a pencil to the page with MFA in fiction alumnus ('17) Angela DiLella.

Where do you write?

Usually at my desk, if I’m ready to commit things to a Word doc. Before that point, it’s wherever I have my journal or paper when I’ve got an idea. It’s a little messy, but I can’t work in a space that isn’t. 

Stand, sit or other?

A little bit of everything: If I’m typing, I’m usually sitting at my desk. But when I’m figuring out what to write, I’m a pacer and often practice different lines or ideas, complete with gestures, movements, all that good stuff. I love it when nobody is home and I can just wander around doing my thing. It’s also helpful for figuring out realistic action and blocking. For example, the fridge is exactly six feet tall, so if I’m trying to figure out an interaction between a taller person and a shorter person (like myself), I can eyeball the proportions and figure out what a normal interaction would probably look like. 

What is your writing practice?

I usually write things out in a journal or even do quick comic sketches in a journal and then transfer them onto a Word doc at some point (usually when I get annoyed with myself for procrastinating). If I have a good idea at work, I’ll write my ideas on a sticky note or even on the back of receipts (my bookmarks) and tape them into my journal at home. If I’m really jazzed about an idea like that, it goes right onto the doc when I get home.

What are your favorite procrastinations?

I play a lot of video games. Lately I’ve been playing a lot of Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town, which are two fairly relaxing games about building communities around your player, taking care of the land, crafting, and so on. When my brain needs a break, I draw for fun, too. It’s mostly rabbits, but fanart is also a fun way to keep my digital art skills sharp and learn about different features of the apps I rely on with no pressure attached. 

I don’t watch a ton of TV, but I keep up with Puppet History and Tasting History With Max Miller on YouTube. I start a lot of shows on Netflix and Hulu, but I usually only end up sticking with documentary series all the way to the end. 

We live in interesting times, which book/author keeps you sane/grounded?

While the lockdown was on, I mostly read nonfiction because it felt “safer.” There weren’t going to be any unexpected elements that were going to surprise me and stress me out more. At the same time, once the shock of being stuck at home dulled slightly, I dug into one of my favorites from elementary school, The Girl Who Owned a City by OT Nelson, which is set after a pandemic wipes out everyone over the age of 12, and is about what the kids left have to do to rebuild. My best friend from elementary school, who was in my book group for that book in fifth grade, also reread it at the same time and we bonded over it again. I guess it was sort of a “foxhole” thing for the both of us. 

In general, a text I go back to when taxed is A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood. It’s about an older man adapting to life after his partner died unexpectedly--just one day in his life some time after the event. I find it tremendously comforting regardless of what exactly has me struggling, whether it was, in this case, a pandemic and lockdown and everything that has come with that, and with a handful of other things I’ve dealt with within the past eleven-ish years now. As the story goes, Isherwood had had a particularly nasty fight with his partner, and he walked out for a few months. To come to terms with it, Isherwood imagined that his partner had died, and the book came out of him dealing with it in that way. While that’s a pretty specific situation, it’s such an honest, personal look at what it is to be human and alive in this world that it works more generally too. It’s comforting to know that someone, at some point, was on your wavelength, especially if you’re a bit anxious about discussing these things with others. Incidentally, I don’t know how this compares to Isherwood’s other books; I’ve never had the guts to read them and see how they compare. 

What is your new skill learned during the shutdowns of the Pandemic

If this is meant to be related to writing, my “new” skill would be getting myself to write in a journal regularly instead of immediately going to the computer. My diaries, journals, etcs were stolen, read, and shared around a lot when I was in grade school, so just opening a journal and putting my pencil to the page filled me with immense dread for a long time. 

Outside of writing, I’ve just picked up a lot of small, weird handy skills around the house. Plumbing, cleaning, building, rabbit-proofing… I think my greatest achievement is that I finally learned how to use a hot glue gun without burning myself in the process. 

What is your dream writing space?

This writing space is great, actually! I would like a better chair, but my rabbit finds comfy desk chairs too inviting. And then it’s a short hop from the chair to the desktop, to all my wonderful pens (great for throwing) and paintbrushes (great for chewing). 

My desk is also in the guest/storage room, so a neater area around the desk would be nice, but that seems unlikely. 

Angela DiLella is a Creative Writing Fiction alumnus, class of 2017. She’s a staff writer for the website Grave Reviews and a teacher's assistant at a middle school, and even manages to publish writing, comics, and illustrations once in a while! Her most recent creative publication was the comic “School Reunion” in Honey Literary’s second issue, and you can find her other work on Twitter @Shanksspeare.

Writing spaces are as varied as the individuals who occupy them. The range of “space” we enter for our writing practice is a wide, wild field from tidy to random, from Maya Angelou in a sparse hotel room to Marcel Proust in bed, from Jane Austen at the kitchen table to you: what does your writing space look like? Take in the motions with first year MFA in fiction and poetry student, Jason Chun.

Where do you write?

This is my bedroom where I’ve been burning the midnight oil. It doesn’t always look this messy—it usually looks worse.

Stand, sit or other?

Both! Sometimes I get tired of my desk, so I set up at the bar table in my kitchen, where I can pace around and find a snack. 

What is your writing practice?

Get a cup of coffee, do some reading, then sit in front of a blank Google Doc for two hours. I do believe in “showing up” to write even when I don’t feel like it, because something good eventually emerges. Even if I don’t write much during a session, I’ve spent time thinking about what I need to write, which often results in a breakthrough at 2am.

What are your favorite procrastinations?

I love/hate doomscrolling on my phone as much as the next guy. Beyond that, I enjoy walking around New York, taking in the motions of the city. Movement is good for my brain.

We live in interesting times, which book/author keeps you sane/grounded?

I have to admit, it was hard for me to read during the pandemic. The one author I kept returning to was Kazuo Ishiguro—Never Let Me Go is possibly my favorite novel of all time. I love how much effort Ishiguro’s characters put into denying the obvious (and no, that has nothing to do with my own habits whatsoever, nope). I also discovered William Gibson’s Neuromancer—that book was written on a typewriter in the 80s, but even today it feels like it came to us from the future. And what an incredible first sentence: “The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.”

What is your new skill learned during the shutdowns of the Pandemic

This isn’t exactly a skill, but I ran an online poetry workshop called Just Words. It was mostly my friends from undergrad reuniting every two weeks to write again, and it followed a format I borrowed from a class called Poetics of Struggle: check-in question, related writing prompt, write for about 20 minutes, and share. We took turns coming up with the questions—it helped us get away from reality for a little while!

What is your dream writing space?

Somewhere with water, which stimulates my creativity. I stumbled across this picture online. Just give me some headphones and a place to plug in my laptop, and we’re all set.

Jason Chun is a first-year fiction/poetry student originally from the San Francisco Bay Area. He loves science fiction, grunge rock, and warm cafes.

Writing spaces are as varied as the individuals who occupy them. The range of “space” we enter for our writing practice is a wide, wild field from tidy to random, from Maya Angelou in a sparse hotel room to Marcel Proust in bed, from Jane Austen at the kitchen table to you: what does your writing space look like? Write like mad with second year dual concentration in fiction/nonfiction MFA student Grace Shields.

Where do you write?

I write on the third tier of a bookshelf next to a large window in my apartment. This has become my desk and it feels very cozy. My go-to books are just an arms length away, and whether I’m journaling, working on an essay or short story, or sketching out a comic, I have everything I need here in my little writing nook. I also do a lot of writing from a comfy pile of pillows in bed, with my dog curled up by feet.

Stand, sit or other?

Sit, always. Or, slump, rather. I have terrible posture, but I like to be comfortable when I’m writing and I can focus for much longer when I am. Usually, my notebook or sketchpad is propped on my knees and I’m in a pretzel shape somewhere. 

What is your writing practice?

I write best at night, when everything is quiet and the house is sleeping around me. I gather ideas all day, and when the day is over and the distractions have settled, then I feel like I can finally put something down on paper. My writing practice is to write madly when I have an idea—to spend two or three days getting it all out on the page—and then to appear like I’m not writing in the in-between times. That’s when all the ideas are cooking in my brain. When I’m working on a graphic piece, I tend to do the words first and then go back and work on the images after. I also read a lot, all the time, and that way I’m always exploring forms and themes and possibilities for future pieces.

What are your favorite procrastinations?

I definitely procrastinate by reading novels. I tell myself it’s to learn from other writers, but really it’s just pure escapism. I also take a lot of naps and hope that inspiration will find me while I sleep. I always accept a coffee date or drinks with friends as a great way to pass many hours. And, of course, a walk or visit to the dog park with my pup is a reliable distraction.

We live in interesting times, which book/author keeps you sane/grounded?

I go to the work of Liana Finck quite often, not because it makes me feel better, necessarily, but because it makes me feel less alone. I have her graphic memoir Passing for Human on my shelf-desk. Karen Russell’s short story collection St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves is a comfort read for me, as are Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson, Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, and All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot. When things get too crazy, I like a good thriller to remind me things could always be worse. Tana French is my go-to author for a mystery, and I read her books over and over, especially The Likeness.

What is your new skill learned during the shutdowns of the Pandemic

During the pandemic I started writing graphic nonfiction! I felt at a real stand-still in my writing, and changing forms helped me feel excited about creating again. It’s made it easier for me to express myself in a way that feels meaningful. I also started birding, which feels very meditative and gets me outside.

What is your dream writing space?

My dream writing space has lots of light, different places to sit and spread out my work, shelves for all my books to live comfortably and, of course, a view of the ocean that is close enough to hear the sounds of the tide.

Grace, based in Brooklyn, is a second year student with a dual concentration in fiction and nonfiction. When not curled up with a book and a strong cup of tea, she can generally be found skimming the Rockaway Beach boardwalk, taking her dog to the park, or sketching out graphic memoir drafts. Her work was featured in the most recent issue of Sazeracs Smoky Ink. 

Writing spaces are as varied as the individuals who occupy them. The range of “space” we enter for our writing practice is a wide, wild field from tidy to random, from Maya Angelou in a sparse hotel room to Marcel Proust in bed, from Jane Austen at the kitchen table to you: what does your writing space look like? Soak up the sunlight with second year MFA in fiction student Isabella Kestermann.

Where do you write?

I’ve found myself writing in this small room on the fourth floor of my apartment building. It used to be an exercise room but now its just for extra storage. I was attracted to this spot because of the amount of sunlight it gets in the middle of the day. Being from California, I find myself really missing the sunlight and being in the warm room with nice sunshine just always puts me in a peaceful mood. Its also a big plus that this room gets terrible wifi connection, so I can only focus on what I’m writing. 

Stand, sit or other?

I’ve done any and all positions. I think sitting or laying down on the floor works best for me but I have tried to revise poetry while waiting in line at a salad bar before, so hey. 

What is your writing practice?

Honestly it changes all the time. I’m really trying to work on consistency because I know that helps just like having a consistent sleep schedule helps, but sometimes I just need to change things up. Right now I’m trying to write for twenty minutes while my tea water boils so by the end I can reward myself with a nice cup of Jasmin green tea. 

What are your favorite procrastinations?

Sooooo many. Anime, minecraft, youtube, instagram, Dungeons and Dragons, the list could go forever. Currently I’m ruining my life with animated video clips from Dream smp which somehow has united my love of role-play, Minecraft and animation into a terrible addiction.

We live in interesting times, which book/author keeps you sane/grounded?

When it comes to politics I think a lot about Hannah Arendt’s book On Violence. It’s main philosophy is that violence comes from the loss of power. The siege on the capital is a clear example of this thought. So while the times are tough and scary, I find comfort in knowing that people who threaten violence only do so because they have no real power. 

What is your new skill learned during the shutdowns of the Pandemic

I don’t know if I learned any new skills more then I improved ones I already had. I got a lot better at cooking and I found myself enjoying it  a lot more then going out to eat. I can make killer sweet potato brownies now, which I’m very proud about.  

What is your dream writing space?

Probably somewhere with a lot of windows and sunlight. Something that lets me enjoy the pluses of outdoors while also still getting to enjoy the comfort and connivence of being inside. 

Isabella Kestermann is a second-year MFA student in fiction at the New School. She's originally from Los Angeles where she was involved with the Los Angeles Poets and Writers Collective and Poet-tea Poetry. She currently resides in Washington Heights, New York. 

Writing spaces are as varied as the individuals who occupy them. The range of “space” we enter for our writing practice is a wide, wild field from tidy to random, from Maya Angelou in a sparse hotel room to Marcel Proust in bed, from Jane Austen at the kitchen table to you: what does your writing space look like? Push upward into the atmosphere with second year MFA in fiction student Kellene O'Hara.

Where do you write?

I can write anywhere, any time. Writing isn’t just the physical act of writing. It’s watching, listening, experiencing. Sometimes, I intentionally go to places to write, like when I hiked to Sunfish Pond over the summer to just spend the day writing in the sun. Other times, I’ll just write at home, on my couch or, occasionally, at my desk. But when it comes time to edit? A desk is a serious place, a place for editing. 

Stand, sit or other?

Mostly I’ll be sitting, usually with my legs crisscrossed because I’m short and I hate it when my feet dangle from unnecessarily high chairs. Who determines the standard height of chairs anyway? I want to have a word. 

What is your writing practice?

I like to write when I am not thinking. So, I primarily write at night when I’m too tired to think anymore, after I’ve had a long day and I’m exhausted and I have a headache and I just can’t anymore. The best writing sessions are the ones I don’t even remember, when I just wrote and I didn’t think about what I was doing or why. Then, when I wake up in the morning, I look at what I’ve written and I’m always like – Oh my gosh! Did I really write that? Sometimes, it’s good thing. Mostly it’s not. But there’s always something I can pull from the text that serves as a seed for something else to grow. 

What are your favorite procrastinations?

Daydreaming. My imagination never stops so I am always entertained. 

We live in interesting times, which book/author keeps you sane/grounded?

I return to books all of the time, for many reasons. But never to stay grounded. I want books that push me upward into the atmosphere, books that twist and turn everything I knew about reality, books that tremble terribly and say, “I’m here!” If you’re looking to shake up your reading list, I’ll suggest some of the books I’ve read recently: Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin or Oona by Alice Lyons or The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa. I’m always inspired by Renee Gladman’s Event Factory. 

What is your new skill learned during the shutdowns of the Pandemic

I watched YouTube tutorials on step-by-step paintings and I tried. But I learned that I probably won’t make a career as a painter.  

What is your dream writing space?

I would like to write in a void where there is nothing, not even me, and where language exists solely as language because I want to see what language does and how it does it without us. The void would be empty of everything and, through words, would be able to contain everything. I’d also like to write in a place between all time so that I could write in the time before time and, simultaneously, I could write in the present and, simultaneously, I could write at the end of time so I could write the final words. Luckily, I’m a writer and, when I put pen to paper, I can write anywhere and everywhere into existence. 

Kellene O’Hara is currently pursuing her MFA in Fiction at The New School. Her writing has been published in The Fourth River, Marathon Literary Review, South Florida Poetry Journal, and elsewhere. Find her on Twitter @KelleneOHara and online at kelleneohara.com.

Writing spaces are as varied as the individuals who occupy them. The range of “space” we enter for our writing practice is a wide, wild field from tidy to random, from Maya Angelou in a sparse hotel room to Marcel Proust in bed, from Jane Austen at the kitchen table to you: what does your writing space look like? Clear a path with second year MFA in poetry student Lisette Boer.

Where do you write?

I write at my desk, on napkins at restaurants, and on tiny scraps of paper here and there. 

Stand, sit or other?

I walk, and I sit? Well… I walk until the thoughts in my head feel less clumsy and loud before I eventually sit down to write. I would love to say that I can simply sit down and write, but I am a chronic overthinker, and it plagues me. Until the “cattle” have cleared in my head and there’s a definitive path ahead, I need to move around and think. 

What is your writing practice?

I start by exercising to clear my head or talking with friends/family about how life is going for each of us. A lot of my writing centers around girlhood as a sort of reclamation of my own or thoughts that I’m having a hard time letting go of. Therefore, I’m typically doing some introspection and reflection on the world around me before I even begin writing. If I’m not really feeling it, I’ll go to a museum or try to consume another medium of art besides writing. 

Once I get a clear path of what I want to write about, I’ll start to journal about it (or make a mood board, ha) as a sort of reference or brainstorm. Most of the time, I have a half-idea of where I want to go with a poem when I start writing, and then I see where it takes me as time goes on. I’ll also talk out loud to see how different words sound, where natural pauses take place, and how breath plays out on the page. However, sometimes my writing practice isn’t even a writing practice as much as I try to implement routines in my life. There are times when I’ll just be in the mood to write, or something comes to me in the middle of nowhere, and I almost like those moments more than when I force myself to write. 

What are your favorite procrastinations?

Oh, I think sometimes I trick myself into believing that work is consuming too much of my time to give space for writing. One of my faults is that I really desire other people’s validation when it comes to professional and academic success. I find it hard to give moments to myself without feeling guilty for a lack of academic / work productivity. If I’m procrastinating from writing and not doing some sort of work-related thing it’s usually through watching movies, reading, or going out with friends.

We live in interesting times, which book/author keeps you sane/grounded?

Joy Harjo has a poem that my undergraduate advisor used to start every semester with called Eagle Poem (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46545/eagle-poem). I deeply cherish it. 

What is your new skill learned during the shutdowns of the Pandemic

I tried to pick up skateboarding again. I say again because I had an epic crush in 8th grade on this boy who was a skater (a theme that has unfortunately not gone away folks), and I asked him to teach me. Anyways, if anyone wants to join NYC Skate Project @nycskateproject with me… 

What is your dream writing space?

I want Georgia O'Keeffe’s workspace: 

Lisette Boer Lisette Boer is a Poetry MFA candidate pursuing a graduate minor in Impact Entrepreneurship at The New School. She received her BA in English – Creative Writing and a minor in Communication from Hope College in Holland, Michigan. When she’s not writing Lisette is the social media manager for Milk Press Books, The Poetry Society of New York, The Poetry Brothel, Pen Parentis, and Statorec. She also serves as a poetry editor at Statorec and Milk Press Books. Currently, she is the Events Specialist Assistant for The New School's Creative Writing Program. Reach out to her at www.lisetteboer.com

Writing spaces are as varied as the individuals who occupy them. The range of “space” we enter for our writing practice is a wide, wild field from tidy to random, from Maya Angelou in a sparse hotel room to Marcel Proust in bed, from Jane Austen at the kitchen table to you: what does your writing space look like? Reset your timer with third year MFA in Fiction / Nonfiction student Alex Vara for a bike ride through strange worlds.

Where do you write?

I write lying in my Murphy bed. I live in a small studio, hence the Murphy bed. I started writing in bed last fall after Luis suggested to our workshop to find a place to write where we feel supported. I thought, What’s more supportive than my bed? It was great for this school year but lately, my body has been rebelling. Too much of anything isn’t good. 

Stand, sit or other?

Lately, I write mostly lying on my back in bed with my knees up to support my laptop, and a pillow or two under my head.

What is your writing practice?

I always wish for a more rhythmic writing practice but something that has been helping recently are pomodoros: timed writing sessions. Elissa Bassist introduced me to them in her Humor Writing Master class my first year. I set my timer for 20 minutes (Bassist suggested 25 but that was far too long for me;) and I tell myself “20 minutes, that’s nothing,” and I write or stare at my computer for twenty minutes. By the end of the first pomodoro, I usually want to reset the timer and do another. It’s a trick that gets me writing. I need to trick myself to write. 

What are your favorite procrastinations?

I have many. Some of my latest favorites are scrolling through StreetEasy apartment hunting, watching performances from The Voice (I became a fan during lockdown last Spring), or silly videos of animals or babies on Instagram. Here’s a one of my latest favorites:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CMhAcB_JRto/

We live in interesting times, which book/author keeps you sane/grounded?

During this thesis semester, I’ve read mostly history books but during winter break, I binge listened to the audiobooks of The Handmaid’s Tale, The Testaments, and The Hunger Games Series. After taking Shelley Jackson’s Strange Worlds, Strange Words seminar in the fall, and finding myself oddly comforted by the dystopian lit we were reading, all I wanted to read/listen to were stories about dystopian worlds. They’re both distracting and feel more relatable during the pandemic. I’m excited to get back to dystopian novels post thesis. 

What is your new skill learned during the shutdowns of the Pandemic

It’s not a new skill but a new love. I bought a bike in the fall, a shining silver single speed, and I’ve become a bit obsessed. Love riding around the city adventuring to new places. 

What is your dream writing space?

A porch in Brooksville, Maine, a small town on the coast. I moved to New York for the program from Brooksville. It’s is one of my favorite places in the world. Summer in Maine is pure magic. There’s a reason it’s called Vacationland. I wasn’t able to visit last summer due to the pandemic but plan to drive up after graduation. I can’t wait to write outside, barefoot, and with a cup of coffee looking out on this view.

Alex Vara is a third year Fiction/Nonfiction student originally from Mill Valley, CA. She’s the host of TNS After Hours, a WriteOn Fellow, and public speaking teacher. She’s damn sad to be graduating. And she could use some more biking buddies. 

Writing spaces are as varied as the individuals who occupy them. The range of “space” we enter for our writing practice is a wide, wild field from tidy to random, from Maya Angelou in a sparse hotel room to Marcel Proust in bed, from Jane Austen at the kitchen table to you: what does your writing space look like? Get comfy and lost in existential thoughts with second year MFA in Nonfiction student Tidenek Haileselassie.

Where do you write?

I’ve been meaning to get a desk for months now, but I just never got around to it, so I write/read in bed.

Stand, sit or other?

I write sitting up in bed, with a comfy pillow or two behind my back. If I can’t bring myself to write it helps to get up and take a walk. I often come back from a long walk feeling more motivated and energized, feeling like I can do anything. Mind you, this feeling doesn’t necessarily translate to actually sitting down and writing, but it puts me in the space to write and be more productive.

What is your writing practice?

Currently I don’t have a disciplined writing practice. I write when there’s a deadline and when I have the presence of mind to do so.

What are your favorite procrastinations?

I like browsing Reddit and YouTube. My favorite thing to do on Reddit is browse questions that people post on groups like r/TooAfraidToAsk and r/NoDumbQuestions, and seeing the (mostly) surprisingly wholesome responses. I also love discovering and exploring new artists on YouTube through their songs, music videos and interviews. A few artists that I recently discovered this way are Tems, Amaarae, L.A.X. and Ayra Starr—all Afrobeat/alternative R&B artists that I would 100% recommend. Apart from that, I enjoy listening to podcasts and audiobooks, being outside, eating and cooking/experimenting with food, and getting lost in random existential thoughts like, “What if I hadn’t been born human or myself, but something/someone else?” 

We live in interesting times, which book/author keeps you sane/grounded?

Lately I’ve been gravitating to books on faith, spirituality and mindfulness—books like “The Sin of Certainty” by Pete Enns, on the role of doubt in faith, and “Wherever You Go There You Are” by Jon Kabat-Zinn, on mindfulness and meditation.

What is your new skill learned during the shutdowns of the Pandemic

I don’t know if you could call this a skill, but I think the uncertainty of the pandemic has led to me being less rigid and more at peace with ambiguity and uncertainty—or if not at peace, at least I’ve come to accept these things more. I’ve also learned to make really good fuul (a traditionally middle eastern/North African dish that we also have in Ethiopia), and have discovered that marinara sauce was *made* to be paired with eggs—especially sunny side up with a soft, jammy yolk. Seriously. Try it and let me know.  

What is your dream writing space?

I actually like writing on my bed and don’t think I’ll get a desk after all. I think the only way it could be better is if I had a comfy outdoor writing space (with shelter from the rain and sun)—something like what you see here.

Tidenek is a second-year fiction and creative nonfiction student and WriteOn fellow. She lives between New York and Denver, enjoys exploring the places she calls home, and accidentally discovering things when lost. 

Writing spaces are as varied as the individuals who occupy them. The range of “space” we enter for our writing practice is a wide, wild field from tidy to random, from Maya Angelou in a sparse hotel room to Marcel Proust in bed, from Jane Austen at the kitchen table to you: what does your writing space look like? Get your Freedom on and join Luis Jaramillo, director of the Creative Writing Program for some fresh sour dough bread and a bay view that is East of Eden.

Where do you write?

I write in the living room/kitchen part of my one-bedroom apartment. The coffee pot and the refrigerator are a few steps away from the couch. The room is bright, and I like looking out the windows when I need a break. 

Stand, sit or other?

I write on the couch, with my back against the armrest, and my legs stretched out in front of me. It’s a supremely lazy position, and one that provides maximum physical support for my body. One problem is that as the morning progresses, I slip further and further down, ending up with my head resting on the armrest, my laptop propped up on my belly. Not good. When I’m done writing for the day, the couch turns into my New School office. 

What is your writing practice?

I write every morning for at least an hour, often longer, but never for more than 4 hours. If I’m generating new work, I usually have a word count I’m shooting for, usually 500-1000 words. I tend to get up early, 6 or 7ish. I make coffee and have breakfast while I look at the internet. This browsing is a real problem. The only way I can actually get anything done is to turn on Freedom, a program that blocks internet access. Once Freedom is activated, I feel such relief. You’d think I’d learn my lesson, but then I go through the same tedious struggle every morning. 

What are your favorite procrastinations?

Looking at the news online. Shopping online. Doing “research” online. Looking at real estate online. 

We live in interesting times, which book/author keeps you sane/grounded?

Over the winter break I read all of Alan Hollinghurst’s books, one after another. Hollinghurst’s prose is so good that it makes the rest of the world temporarily go away. I recently reread East of Eden. I’d forgotten what a wild book it is--Steinbeck breaks all sorts of rules having to do with structure and voice. I love to be reminded that you can do whatever you want as a writer. 

What is your new skill learned during the shutdowns of the Pandemic

Like lots of other people, I learned how to make sourdough bread. It’s a two day process made up of a lot of simple steps: feeding the starter, making the dough, babysitting the dough while it rises, putting the dough in the fridge to rise very slowly overnight, and then baking the bread. The day the dough rises, my timer goes off every half hour, and that gets me up off the couch regularly.  

What is your dream writing space?

Speaking of John Steinbeck, The New York Times just published an article about the house Steinbeck bought in Sag Harbor in the 1950s. The house is now for sale for $17.9 million, a bit outside my price range. I wonder if the owners would just sell me the writing shack? 

Luis Jaramillo is the author of The Doctor’s Wife, winner of the Dzanc Books Short Story Collection Contest, an Oprah Book of the Week, and one of NPR’s Best Books of 2012. Luis’s fiction and nonfiction has also appeared in Tin House, Lit Hub and the Chattahoochee Review, among many other publications. He is the Director of Creative Writing at The New School. 

Writing spaces are as varied as the individuals who occupy them. The range of “space” we enter for our writing practice is a wide, wild field from tidy to random, from Maya Angelou in a sparse hotel room to Marcel Proust in bed, from Jane Austen at the kitchen table to you: what does your writing space look like? Join second year MFA in fiction John Kazanjian on a park bench to honor all the ways we love, feel, create, and blossom.

Where do you write?

I feel untethered in terms of creative spaces. I think that any place can become an arena for producing art. I’ve often felt most connected to my work on airplanes or park benches—and once at a gas station along Pacific Coast Highway, north of Los Angeles. However, I do keep a desk facing a window that overlooks the Queensboro Bridge. If I can’t be in transit, then it helps to look at perpetual motion. 

Stand, sit or other?

My best ideas come from standing in the shower or walking outside. But I do sit to write.

What is your writing practice?

The most important part of my practice is a strong and varied engagement with the world. Getting out and being active is paramount. For me, writing means actively bridging the external and internal realms in meaningful ways, striving to create a single space for life and creativity. For producing new work, I find that I am most productive when I’m in an emotional state of mind. I tend to get there with music. I’ve got a playlist of my favorite sad songs and pieces. The trick is generating work before emotions become a touch too overwhelming. For revising, I think recreating the most likely setting in which the work will be read is important, removing music and other mood-altering elements.

What are your favorite procrastinations?

Since I consider pretty much any activity to be part of my writing practice, I don’t know that I’d call anything procrastination. But when I’m not putting words on a page, I’m usually composing and recording music, practicing an instrument, or listening to albums on vinyl. I’ll also stop whatever I’m doing at any moment if one of my cats wants to play. Paws before prose.

We live in interesting times, which book/author keeps you sane/grounded?

I wish a book, or an author could have this effect on me! I connect more with single works than I do with authors as personalities or mentors-in-absentia. But once I’ve experienced a book, I rarely go back. For me, there are too many literary instances to explore in a tragically insufficient amount of time. And I’m comfortable being ungrounded. Although, I do often think back on Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke when I am feeling particularly lost. There’s a special line that he writes to the struggling poet and sometimes it helps to pretend that he’s writing to me. “I would like to beg of you, dear friend, as well as I can, to have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart.”

What is your new skill learned during the shutdowns of the Pandemic

I’ve learned to be gentle with myself. In essence, I think human beings are beautiful, and the harshness of this world will move us in unfavorable ways. But neither loss, nor struggle, nor existential dread should inspire us to side with that harshness. I’ve learned that honoring the ways we love, feel, and create will allow us to blossom, even in this philosophical winter.

What is your dream writing space?

Right now, I think I’d feel most inspired on a park bench somewhere, surrounded by sunshine and flowers. Maybe there could be a pond and a little bridge with a high arch. I’d like a place where I could take off my headphones and replace my music with the sound of rustling trees and the soft chatter of happy people.

John Kazanjian is a writer and book critic living in New York. His work has been published in Rain Taxi, The Brooklyn Rail, Entropy Magazine, PANK, The Rupture, JMWW, and elsewhere. Find him at: www.johnkazanjian.com