S71 Contributor Interviews: Genelle Chaconas

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4 mins read

Vertical selfieWhat is it about the genre or cross-genre you write in that interests you/draws you in?

I enjoy cross genre and experimental writing because I love writing materials that aren’t even literary. I’ve published lists, forms, etc. The detritus aspect of it appeals to me; I’m fascinated by reading we experience everyday, wads of junk mail we recycle, envelopes we shred, the endless copying and filing, etc.

How does this published piece fit in with the larger thematic concerns that you see in your overall work?

I was writing pieces with word limits: in this case, 50 words. You’d be amazed what you can do with 50 words or less when you forget about  grammatically correct or coherent sentences. This practice of controlled discord is central to my work. And I’m also into speculative genres.

What are you influenced by? 

I’m most influenced by paradigm shifting. I love doing anything (legal) which challenges my senses, tastes, abilities, etc. I relish anything which helps me question myself, experience new forms of thought process, practice chaotic or ‘chance’ forms such as cut-ups or fold-ins, whatever seeks to change or alter my consciousness.

What does your typical writing schedule look like? What aspects of working do you look forward to? What aspects frustrate you?

I try to write every day. When I don’t, I know. It’s like not sleeping. I often do not look forwards to writing, particularly when a larger project needs much editing. However, I enjoy creating new methods I can practice and experiment with, no matter how strange they may be.

For fun, if you could pick one meal that matches the piece we published, what would it be and why? 

Instant Buddha Feast. That’s not the name of it, but I remember seeing something like it at a supermarket. It described a luscious Tibetan ‘inspired’ vegan feast, pricey, chic, cruelty free, all organic, in a foil package. Add hot water and in three minutes, voila. There’s something frightening about that.

GENELLE CHACONAS is genderfluid, queer, feminist, an abuse survivor, and proud. They earned their BA in Creative writing from CSUS (2009) and their MFA in Writing and Poetics from Naropa University (2015). Their first chapbook is Fallout, Saints and Dirty Pictures (little m Press, 2011). Their work is published or forthcoming in The New Engagement, A3, Fjords, WomenArts Quarterly, Jet Fuel Review, Milkfist, Menacing Hedge, Image OutWrite, Crack the Spine, Third Wednesday, Bombay Gin, Calaveras Station, Late Peaches: Poems by Sacramento Poets and many others. They are a volunteer reader for Tule Review . They’re drafting their first ‘real book’. They’re starting a online literary publication of their own soon. They performed at Sacramento’s Art Street with Library of Musiclandria. They enjoy gangster flicks, cheap takeout, industrial/noise music, edm, drone, cut-up and fold in technique, William S. Burroughs, queer art, cyberpunk and biopunk, and long walks off short piers.