Mark Saba

RS:

I just went to your website and saw that you have written novels and poetry, in addition to the collection of short stories you did with Big Table Publishing. It's unusual to be able to do all three! Which genre do you favor? What are the challenges of each?

MS:

I began writing fiction in Annie Dillard's class when I was at Wesleyan. I wrote my first novel as a senior thesis there, ending up at around 250 pages. Annie encouraged me to learn poetry because it would benefit my fiction writing. The first poems I wrote were awful. Then, as a grad student at Hollins College, my poetry writing skills improved, and I realized that I was at heart a poet. But I can't sit down and force a poem if it isn't tugging at me, the way I can when fleshing out long works of fiction.  So I continued writing novels for something to do in between writing poems. I now consider all my work (novels, novellas, stories, poems, even paintings) poetry. I say that because, like poetry, each of my works is based on a vision and a feeling, and I consider them successful if I've been able to translate that vision and feeling into something others can appreciate. 

RS:

What are some of your favorite themes? What past experiences have found their way into your writing?

MS:

I've noticed over the years that the theme of duality often arises. I'm so comfortable seeing opposing points of view in anything, and so I often create situations in my writings where two conflicting perspective hash it out. There is also the theme of loss that comes up, and I attribute this to having lost my father as a toddler, and all the mystery and uncertainty that that entails.

RS:

You said you might soon be moving to Boston, where I left behind a vibrant writing community when I moved to San Francisco (I miss it!) How important is a writing community in terms of motivating yourself to write? Do you belong to any writing groups?

MS:

This is a strange question for me, because I've always felt isolated as a writer, maybe because there is absolutely no one else in my family who writes, or even takes much more than a passing interest in what I do. I've always had a demanding day job (for the past 31 years as a medical illustrator at Yale University) so if there was any time or energy left at the end of the day, I chose to spend it writing, not engaging in writing groups. Having said that, I have in the past been involved in a poetry group at Yale and another poetry group at Stamford. I guess I am pretty much focused and self-motivated in my work, thought I'm not sure I'd recommend that to anyone. 

RS:

Favorite tip for writing a novel?

MS:

Dig down to the deepest part of you and write what demands to be written from there.