Each week we will be connecting with our contributors showing where they have been, where they are now, and what’s up for the future.
Name: Amanda Chiado
Title of Pieces Published in Sweet: “Angels in the Bathtub” and “Fire Breathing Darlings”
Issues: 4.2
Find Her:
Twitter
You can find her in Cali, in the rural town of Hollister where she is the Director of Arts Education for the San Benito County Arts Council. She is usually in a poetic state of mind, but the current health crisis has infused her creativity with more anxiety than usual. She continues to write, submit work, and advocate for the arts in any capacity she can. You are ahead of the rest of us, Amanda!
Check out her website for more.
What are some major accomplishments you have had since your Sweet publication?
I published the chapbook Vitiligod: The Ascension of Michael Jackson with Dancing Girl Press, participated in the Visible Poetry Project, attended a Highlights Foundation Children’s Writer’s Workshop, and was nominated for the Pushcart and Best of the Net, and published various pieces short fiction. My daugher Isabella was three years old when I was published, and she will be twelve soon and now I have a son, named Gianluca who will soon be seven years old.
Can you tell us about a current/ongoing project that you’re excited about?
A current project I am excited about is based on Sierra Mulder’s virtual workshop that I am currently taking which focuses on creating a themed collection. An ongoing project that sticks in me is ekphrastic poetry and fiction. I love how language and image speak to one another. I am always thrilled by the surreal and magical. I am also still interested in a lingering project that focuses on “landscapes” where I weave human experiences such as grief/love with land/nature with themes of cultural and personal history.
Who is your favorite author?
Sylvia Plath, and James Tate
What is your favorite poem/essay/book?
Song by Brigit Pegeen Kelly
What inspires you to write?
Questions, observations, nature and the strangeness of people and complex familial relationships inspire me to write. I imagine myself as a tinkering scientist trying to invent language machines that punch you in the guts, make you fly or bury you. I am deeply inspired by writers, art, music, film and dance, with ekphrastic poems being some of my most favorite to read and write. There is true magic in the act of writing and making something from nothing which always brings me back to the blank page. I want to create stories that vibrate and live on their own.
Some poetic inspiration from Amanda:
What are you reading right now?
Partial Genius by Mary Biddinger
What is your favorite sweet? We would love for you to share a recipe or link to place that serves it. Pictures are great, too!
My favorite sweet is a fruit tart, but I also like a simpler sweet- toast with marscapone, sugar and chocolate chips.
Love it! The best part of summer is the fruit, so this is perfect!
Thank you, Amanda, for taking the time to reconnect with us. We look forward to seeing more of your work in the future!
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