WRITING (FOR) LIFE

Sydney Lea ’60

WRITING OCCUPATION Poet and essayist (though I did publish a novel 30 years back.)

DESCRIBE THE MOMENT WHEN YOU REALIZED YOU WANTED TO BECOME A WRITER AND WHAT OR WHO INSPIRED YOUR DECISION? I came late to the notion, publishing my first book of poems at 40. I was “teaching” a creative writing course at Dartmouth, for no other reason than that the English Department didn't regard it as a serious course way back in 1970, and thought anyone, qualified or otherwise, could teach such a thing. I suddenly realized that I might want to try my hand, too. Not that I hadn’t done some writing, all but exclusively fiction, on my own in my late teens and early 20s. When I decided to dedicate myself to being an author above all else, I became a tiger, working hours a day—usually very early in the morning—until I came to have some command of poetry. It took me 10 years to get there.

WHAT OTHER WRITERS HAVE YOU BEEN MOST INSPIRED BY AND WHY? I have actually been more influenced by a very old generation of northern New Englanders, all dead now, whose flair for narrative was astounding. Small wonder then that the most influential actual writer was Robert Frost.

WHAT IS THE HARDEST PART OF THE WRITING PROCESS FOR YOU? Writing well, to be blatantly obvious. Apart from that, writing is a joy, not a chore in the least.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF IN REGARDS TO YOUR WRITING? That’s for others to judge, but if I have anything to be proud of, it’s that although at its best my poetry and prose may be complex, they are not complicated; as with Frost, you can enter my work without having to have any special “credentials.” I want to remain accessible to as many readers as possible.

WHEN AND WHERE DO YOU PREFER TO WRITE? WHAT IS THE VIEW FROM WHERE YOU WRITE? I do all my best writing in the morning hours. I’m done for the day by lunchtime. I write in an old hunter’s camp that overlooks our seven-acre pond in Vermont. ARE THERE ANY RITUALS YOU FOLLOW IN PREPARING TO WRITE? I like to take long walks and/or paddle considerable distances; these activities seem to allow “subject matter” to sneak up on me. Trying to will material into being is counterproductive.

IS THERE A WRITING PROJECT/GOAL THAT YOU WANT NEXT TO ACHIEVE THAT YOU WOULD BE WILLING TO SHARE? I would like to keep writing decently as long as my mind is adequately functional.

WHAT ADVICE/WORDS OF WISDOM WOULD YOU OFFER A YOUNGER WRITER INTERESTED IN PURSUING A SIMILAR WRITING CAREER PATH? The secret to writing is...to write. As, say, with developing athletic skills, long and rigorous workout is key. There’s no shortcut, I fear.