The Talking Truth: Selena Anderson
“The Talking Truth” is a blog where I, Truth Thomas, talk to former Poison Pen readers about their work, their writing journey, and future plans. I’m happy to say that for the inaugural post, I got the opportunity to interview Selena Anderson, and she had some very insightful answers to my questions.
Do you have any interesting writing quirks, like rituals for drafts or revisions?
Selena Anderson: I revise with music playing until I get to the point where I have to turn the music off. That’s a good sign for me. I also write by hand. When certain words and images come to me, I try to hang out with them for a while.
Where are you currently in your writing process?
SA: I’m at the beginning of a new story. I’m revising a chapter. I’m taking notes for another story. I’m always in the middle of something.
What do you enjoy when you're not writing?
SA: I like playing with my baby. He just turned one. He’s so curious and amazed by everything. In a past life I loved to go to museums. I like dancing. I like cooking and baking for family and friends.
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
SA: I knew I was a writer when I was very little. I loved to read from the beginning. The first time I’d learned to read a story, I tried to write one.
How did being a Kimbilio Center fellow affect your writing?
SA: Kimbilio means “safe haven” in Swahili—and it is exactly that. I was a Kimbilio fellow during its inaugural year and what I loved about it was how blackness was the norm. You don’t have to explain too much—or worse, argue the validity of your experience. Kimbilio has supported some of my favorite writers. It’s a group I’m very blessed to be a part of.
What was your inspiration for the story “New Sisters”?
SA: I was a new mom when I wrote this story. My baby was just beginning to sit up on his own. I wanted to write something that was a little different than what I’d written before. The story takes some very unexpected and abrupt turns—without tricking you, I hope. It’s built on confessions. That’s what it felt like, this time of my life.
How did growing up in the Houston area influence your writing?
SA: So many things about Houston are with me when I’m writing. I think about what DJ Screw was doing with time. The humid air which is dynamic and stagnant at the same time. The highways. The stray dogs that look both ways before crossing the street. My first apartment was in Montrose. You could live by yourself on $700 a month. It felt luxurious! There’s a visceral, frontier feeling about being in Houston. You sense that you’re swimming upstream in swamp. And at the same time there are all these social codes because it’s the south and you’re a lady and you’re trying to figure out how to improve your station without turning into a monster and while artfully locating other freaks that you can even talk to. The physical conflict of this place paired with the dissonance between what is said and understood is something I hope is in everything that I write.
If at all, how does your experience as a black woman impact your writing process and ideas in stories like “Tenderoni?”
SA: When I was younger I used to hear this term “tenderoni” said in the community which referred to a young girl of the tender age. She doesn’t “have knowledge” as they say—meaning she doesn’t have sexual knowledge. For me, she just feels that she’s at a lack. She’s not looking back, you know? She glows with vulnerability. I had never seen someone like her in the books I’d read.
What do you look most forward to about completing your novel?
SA: I look forward to the fact of completion. I’m dreaming of having this knowledge while walking by the Pacific Ocean with my baby. And it will be so cool to see my parents hold my book. They were the ones who encouraged me to write it.
Stay tuned for more interviews like this!