What drives, inspires, feeds your artistic work? Lily Iona Mackenzie
I have hundreds of pages of story ideas that I’ll never get to, but just knowing they’re waiting to be developed is an impetus. But I also am passionate about all of the arts, not just the literary ones, so even a classical music concert can cause me to think about sentence rhythms and how to vary them. Pacing. Beats. Crescendos. All so important in poetry or prose.
When you are gone and all that is left is what others remember of you and your work, what would you like the world to remember?
That I lived my life as authentically as I could, following my dreams and being open to possibilities/activities I might not have considered worthwhile (maybe even arm wrestling!). I also hope the humor that permeates my writing, especially my novels, resonates with future readers
Read Lily Iona Mackenzie’s “The In-Between World” now at Eckleburg.
Lily Iona MacKenzie teaches writing at the University of San Francisco. Her essays, poetry, book reviews, interviews, and short fiction have found a home in numerous publications. All This, a poetry collection, was published in October 2011. Fling, one of her novels, will be published in July 2015. A recent issue of Notes Magazine featured her as the spotlight author, showcasing her poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. All of the arts inspire her, and she dabbles in painting and collage when she isn't writing. Read more at lilyionamackenzie.wordpress.com.