Mini-interview with Juliette Givhan

Please help us welcome new Underblong reader Juliette Givhan!!!

Juliette Givhan (she/her) received her MFA from Oregon State University and is a former poetry editor for 45th Parallel Magazine and the Red Cedar Review. She writes predominantly about myths and memes with recent work appearing in ANMLY Journal, Two Hawks Quarterly, and Change Seven Magazine—with forthcoming poems in several others. She is a lover of thicc cats, overpriced seasonal coffees, and out of vogue video games. She WILL make a scene for a breakfast bagel. Follow Juliette on Twitter @JuliettiUpsetti.

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Tell us about your ~*writing rituals*~! (Or tell us the story behind a poem you’ve written recently!)

I’m a ridiculously aesthetically based artist. In an ideal world, my writing ritual centers on having several coffee shop offices— ones whose look & general ~vibe~ make me feel comfortable. I’m Black & hyper vigilant about the spaces I inhabit, so once I find the perfect place— I barnacle. In Lansing, MI where I currently live— & when it is safe to do so— the shop I haunt is Blue Owl Coffee (the Reo Town location.) To get into the actual ~mood~ to write, I start with noise canceling headphones & an album I have heard so many times as to not be distracting. This tends to be Childish Gambino’s Awaken My Love, Anderson .Paak’s Malibu, or Joseph’s I’m Alone, No You’re Not. Natural light (#BOOOOWinter,) a warm drink (I’m gay, but I will NOT jump on the iced coffee train,) & the ability to read or work on multiple projects over the course of an afternoon all play into my getting work done. Most of my best work has come from “studying” in a coffee shop, wistfully pining after a barista.

What have you been snacking on recently? (food or non-food!)

My roommate, whom I adore, recently put me onto garlic stuffed green olives. I LOVE THEM which is weird because up until this year I would have gone loudly into my grave claiming to despise that despicable fruit. Yet here we are. Also, everytime I successfully open the sealed mason jar that houses them, it reminds me of this video and how I, as a powerful woman, have a MIND and ARMS, and the ABILITY TO USE LEVERAGE, as well as a HEART.

Tell us about a recent success, a small victory, a huge win, something you’re proud of!

I made a blood pact with a friend across the country to hold each other accountable for starting and finishing NaNoWriMo this year... AND WE ACTUALLY DID IT. I wrote over 50,000 words in a garbage-fire-fantasy-novel that has potential to turn into a whole series!!! Fiction (narrative and plotting) have never been an area of comfort for me as a writer— so being able to produce a complete story (that needs HEAVY revision) was a huge accomplishment for me.

I’ve had this novel idea since high school (#throwback) & something about it existing in a Google Doc feels powerful. It feels like the kind of thing that was only possible because of

1.) being trapped indoors in a global pandemic &

2.) the new Zoom accountability economy.

When is that ever gonna happen again??? It is ultimately very nice to know that at least once, I took on NaNoWriMo and won.

Images provided by Juliette Givhan.