Lit eZine Vol 5 | p-4 | AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT | Interview with Suzanna C. de Baca

We bring to you our featured writer Suzanna C. de Baca
with her poetry
WAXING GIBBOUS MOON,
THE JOY IS IN THE JOURNEY
and her prose
ONE DAY ON 86th AND 5th
plus
AN INTERVIEW with Suzanna C. de Baca

INTERVIEW

TALKING TO SUZANNA C. DE BACA

Lit eZine’s Interview Guest in this issue is writer Suzanna C. de Baca. Change and transformation, our focus theme for this issue, is a topic that is very close to her heart. Let’s get to know more about the person and writer Suzanna.

Could you trace your journey to becoming an author? What made you take the
first step?

I started writing poetry and short stories in high school and college, and post-college was involved in the arts and poetry scene in Dallas, TX. I was always an avid reader of fiction and poetry and kept writing privately, but I didn’t publish any writing until I started doing business writing for national publications as part of my profession. During the pandemic, I decided it was time to start sharing my poetry with others and that is when I began to submit and get
published.

The topic of Change and Transformation is close to your heart. Did you choose this consciously or did life do it for you?

I have long been passionate about the topics of change and transformation because I have been through a great deal of both and have come to understand that change is constant in the world. From my upbringing in the farm crisis to surviving mental health challenges to navigating numerous personal and career transitions, I have slowly learned to accept change. Over time, I’ve become more adept at reframing change as positive. I realize that change is necessary for growth – and that it has the power to be transformational.

Tell us about the book that is brewing in your head. What would you write about if there were no restrictions whatsoever, as a person and as a writer?

I am still a business writer, and my current writing focuses largely on leadership concepts. The book brewing in my head is about leading through change and personal transformation for leaders. I have several poetry collections in progress, all dealing in some way or another with transformation. Right now, I am writing about topics I like and in genres I like, but if there were no restrictions whatsoever, I might be more unbridled in expressing some views.

As a reader, which book or books made a significant impact on you as a person and as a writer?

It’s impossible to narrow down favorite books or authors, but as a teenager and young woman I was deeply influenced by 2^nd Wave feminist poets and writers such as Adrienne Rich, Audre Lorde, Marge Piercy, Anne Sexton, Diane Wakoski, Robin Morgan, Sylvia Plath, Margret Atwood, and Maya Angelou, just to name a few. I was also a big reader of work by Hispanic writers like Pablo Neruda, Federico García Lorca and Antonio Machado.

As a writer, what do you find the most difficult to do? And what is the easiest or happiest part of your creative process? 

The most difficult part of writing for me is revising, both having time and perspective to edit my own work. I struggle with insecurity about the quality of my writing and at times think all of it is worthless, but at this point I am able to forge through those feelings and persist. The easiest and happiest part of the process is sitting down and writing, getting into the flow, finding ideas or phrases that work, watching a piece come together. Feedback from readers that an article or poem has resonated with them is deeply meaningful.

I think most writers would relate to that!
Share something that your readers have never heard about the real you… the person that you are deep inside.

At my core, I am an artist and writer using creativity and communication to find meaning and contribute positively to the world. I am a serious, long-time, serious meditator and I consider myself deeply spiritual but not religious. Increasingly, that comes through in my writing.

If you were to change one thing about the world right now, what would it be?

I wish that civility, kindness and an openness to engage with others were more a part of our global reality.

Writers often don’t have regular writing hours. How do you manage your writing tasks? Do you write to a schedule or wait for inspiration to strike you? What is your favourite writing time?

Since in my professional role I manage a company, I do not have time to write during the day. I do almost all my business and creative writing at night and on weekends. I have various deadlines that keep me writing, but I also just try to write every day or most days to keep the discipline going. My favorite writing time, especially for poetry, is late at night.

How do you think a writer can give back to the world that has nurtured them?

Writing is a gift that can be shared in many ways. Fiction, non-fiction, journalism, and poetry can inform, inspire, elevate and celebrate people, issues and ideas. Writers have a unique opportunity to raise awareness, spark dialogue or connections, provoke thought or facilitate change.

What do you love to do, apart from writing? What do your extended writing breaks look like?

I enjoy my professional career and I gain great satisfaction from my volunteer and community work. But my passions are around the arts and civil rights, particularly advocating for women and girls. I love being outdoors, walking or hiking with my dog at my side, as well as spending time with family and friends.

If you could go anywhere and do anything, what would be your ultimate writer’s pilgrimage?

I am looking forward to doing an Artist in Residence retreat at a nature conservancy in western Iowa later this year. My ultimate writing pilgrimages would be an extended retreat in the mountains or somewhere near an ocean or lake where I could hike, read, do art, and write. For me, isolation, quiet, and being in nature are key to creativity.

I hope you will have a great time at the retreat. Thank you for sharing yourself with our readers, Suzanna. It was wonderful talking to you!