J.A.T: Easter Rabbit is a collection of micro-fictions, built in tiny form, created from little amounts of words, handfuls: is that intentional, or just a function of how you write (your style, your take)? In other words, do you write longer than these and then cut cut cut, or is it simply how they come out when you begin a piece?
J.Y: No, I don’t cut cut cut. They arrive very close to the length they end up as. The editing work revolves around getting the word with the exact shade of meaning or tone or imagery I want, making sure the phrase—and sentence-level rhythms are right, etc. Typically what I do is sit down with a piece of paper and stare at the light in the window or on the wall and get myself into a still state, in which I can concentrate my thoughts into little spaces of time, words, action, character, etc. That concentration is very intentional, although the outproduct is not. The outproduct is a vague relationship between whatever’s in the dark at the back of the head and the choosing mechanism in the front.
J.A.T: Some writers are careful with words, some wasteful—do you find any particular kinship with other writers who spare language (Gary Lutz, M Sarki, etc.)?
J.Y: Yeah, I love Lutz. And I love haiku writers, especially Issa. And other “spare” writers. But it’s not so much the spare that gets me as the fullness behind. Lutz is so rich, and Issa makes my head explode with the implications of his 17 syllables (or whatever they are in translation). “With his radish, the radish picker points the way.” Wow, that’s the whole world there. Issa made a fully functioning universe just right there.
J.A.T: Does Easter Rabbit have a narrative thread? As we read it, should we read it looking for how the three subtitled sections work towards a whole, or is it a genuine collection of micro-fictions only related by style / author?
J.Y: I think it has a narrative thread, but I’m not sure what it is. I mean, it’s the thread of my life over the past 3 or so years. But more than that, I’m sure there is a narrative of its own hiding beneath the sequence of stories. It wasn’t until quite some time after writing the Deep Falls section of the book that I realized that there was a narrative in there, that it was about time and death and loss, that there was an arc from the first story to the last. And before a reading I gave a few weeks ago I realized that the book as a whole begins with a line, the line in the story “Sine,” and ends with 5 Lines (Baltimore). In other words, there is a story—I have a kind of magical faith in the ordering ability of the unconscious mind (or whatever you want to call it)—but that story is still telling itself to me.
J.A.T: Talk to us about how it was working with Publishing Genius Press and Adam Robinson—did you have a heavy say in the design and editing? And overall, from start to finish, how was the experience?
J.Y: Working with Adam was incredible. As was working with Justin Sirois, the back cover designer, and Christine Sajecki, the brilliant painter who made my front cover. Yes, I had a heavy say in the design, in that I got to choose to work with Christine (who I’ve worked with in many other capacities as well) and Justin. And there was a ton of back and forth as far as ideas and feedback with both of them, with Adam deep in the mix too. We all three very much got to have a book that we were all extremely happy with. The editing was similar, and was basically a conversation I had with Adam (and at a few points a friendly argument). It was great fun.
J.A.T: What is down the line for you? What are you working on, looking forward to, setting your sights on?
J.Y: I have a couple art show collaborations in the works, one with Christine and another with artist Kathy Fahey. They are still in process of developing but the first will have something to do with imaginary book covers and the second with the game of Telephone. Other than that, writing stuff, though no particular project in mind, probably making collages, maybe short videos.
J.A. Tyler reviews books and things for Rumble Magazine. He is also founding editor of mud luscious / ml press. He is a terminator.