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The Pedestal Magazine -Interview with Mitzi Szereto
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Interview with Mitzi Szereto |
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Mitzi Szereto is author of Erotic Fairy Tales, A Romp Through the Classics, highway, and editor of the Erotic Travel Tales anthologies. She has also penned several best-selling erotic novels under the name M. S. Valentine, including The Governess, The Martinet, The Captivity of Celia, The Possession of Celia, and Elysian Days and Nights. This summer she will be conducting residential erotic writing workshops in Greece for Skyros and The Greek Experience. Her latest anthology, Erotic Travel Tales 2, is available now, with her upcoming release, Foreign Affairs: Erotic Travel Tales, due out in autumn 2004.
Interviewer: Gerard Wozek
GW: What was the turning point in your life when you decided that you were destined to be a writer?
MS: I wrote my first novel at age ten, so perhaps it was then. However, as I got older I moved away from the writing and more into fine art. It was obvious from an early age that I would make a life for myself in the creative arts, be it fine art, music or writing. In my case, I tried the music bit and the art bit, which segued into fashion design, then graphic design, then back to fine art again. Unfortunately being an artist sounded like too shaky a way to make a living (not that being a writer is secure!), so I decided to return to university and do a degree in journalism. The minute I finished--and I do not exaggerate--I sat down to write a novel. I’m not saying that novel was published, but the writing bug had bitten and I was driven to continue banging away on my computer keyboard until something I wrote finally hit the mark. In retrospect, I could have gone in any direction, but as the publishing contracts came in I began to think that I might just be able to make a go of it. At last I feel I’m finally doing what I should be. I’m not sure if that’s destiny, but I do believe that my raison d’être is to create-- and I am doing it with words.
GW: Can you say a little bit about what led you to move from the United States to Europe and what specifically about living in England feeds you as a writer?
MS: I’d never felt completely American in my skin, so I suppose it’s only natural I’d want to try living somewhere else. England was an obvious choice for me, since I’d wanted to live here since childhood. It also helps to speak the same language-- or near enough to it anyway! I wish I could live in other countries as well. There’s so much out there in the world, so many fascinating places-- and Americans don’t really get to experience much of it being so far away in the USA. We tend to view the world with our stars-and-stripes-sunglasses on. There are other ways to live, and other ways to think. It’s important as a writer to experience these other ways, to open your mind. Perhaps it’s important to everyone. If we experienced more of the world, we wouldn’t keep making such a mess of it. I’m sure I heard somewhere that President Bush didn’t even have a passport until very recently. I think that pretty much substantiates my argument.
GW: Why is extending the subject of the erotic onto the page so important to you as both an author and an editor?
MS: I don’t know if it’s a matter of being important per se, but since it’s the genre in which I’m working I want to make damn sure it’s something I can be proud of. I suppose it’s no different from an artist who paints the human form-- he or she is trying to show it in all its manifestations through art. Obviously sex and sexuality are subjects human beings are interested in and, indeed, fascinated by; therefore, it’s only natural they’d want to read about it. Of course there are many ways in which a writer can put this across in words, all of which calls itself erotic. However, a lot of this material isn’t very erotic at all. Quite the opposite, in fact. I’ve made it my goal to return the eroticism to erotica, and that’s what I’ve been trying to do with my writing and with the anthologies I edit. That’s why I use the term “Erotic Literature" to describe what I’m producing, since I believe it should be literature, not smut or porn. I want to prove to naysayers that material which is sexually explicit can stand up against the best of our literary authors. If you look at the works of D. H. Lawrence, Anais Nin, Vladimir Nabokov, and even way back to Frank Cleland, you’ll see that these authors wrote explicitly about sex, but with literary integrity. They wrote erotically.
GW: Can you comment on the significance of celebrating the erotic in one’s own life and how does that translate into the stories you both write and choose for your anthologies?
MS: I should probably start by saying that I am not one of those writers or editors who’s looking to push my sexual tastes onto other people. I get so irate when I hear about editors who select stories according to what turns them on personally. What hubris! When I select a story, I look for something that will engage the reader on many levels, not just the sexual. I look for material that will touch people in some way, intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, and of course, sexually. Most importantly, the work must stand on its own as a good story. That’s absolutely vital. I approach my writing in the same way. I write from many sexual points of view, since it’s my job to create, not simply to repeat the same things over and over again like the proverbial dog returning to its vomit. Not a very erotic image, but you get a lot of this in erotica.
GW: You have an incredibly hectic life in the U.K., but you're able to produce an extensive list of quality literature. Can you comment on how you are able to cultivate both inspiration and discipline to create your own body of work?
MS: I don’t know how I do it. In fact, I berate myself continually because I don’t feel I’m as productive as I should be. But the business end of writing gets in the way of the actual creating part. Or at least it does for me. It’s important to get out there and push your name and your work, and I do this regularly via my erotic writing workshops, my readings and book signings, and my interviews. Mind you, I’m not complaining! I’m thrilled that people are interested enough in me and my work to invite me to do all these things. However, when I know I need to knuckle down and write something, I just sit at my computer and do it. It’s all a bit Pavlovian. The main problem is that it’s not always easy to prioritize when you’re juggling so many things. I have to make some very hard decisions, which can result in projects getting pushed farther and farther behind. The inspiration part I’ve never had a problem with cultivating. It’s probably safe to say that a little less inspiration might be helpful, since it only frustrates me even more when I can’t follow through on everything I want to do.
GW: I know you're quite successful now with bringing in writers to your ongoing writing workshops. What do you say to aspiring authors who want to practice and live the writing life?
MS: I suspect these people have no idea of what the writing life actually is. If they did, they’d run the other way! They imagine it’s like what you see in the movies or read about in novels. Probably the only writer with this wonderful writing life is Martin Amis. Then again, something had to inspire him to write The Information. That’s a novel I recommend to every would-be writer. I certainly don’t paint a glorious picture of the writing life-- I’m very honest about it. It’s a lot of hard work, a lot of aggravation, a lot of insecurity, and a lot of doors slammed in your face. And let’s not forget the people who rip you off all over the place because they can’t come up with their own original ideas, or the people in publishing who should be selling cheeseburgers, not producing books. Having said that, if you’re a writer you’re a writer. You can’t change this thing inside you that compels you to write. So go all the way, and put every spark of energy into your work. You can’t do it halfway or halfheartedly-- you need to be driven to make a success of it, despite the odds, despite the rejections. I encourage writers to never take no for an answer and--when all else fails--go to the top. But you’d better be sure you’ve got some decent product to sell. I know calling what we create “product" sounds callous, but that’s what we do. We create a product that gets sold in the marketplace. The product just happens to be literature. Publishers look upon us as producers of product. We need to realize this. But this doesn’t mean we must compromise on quality. Stay true to your work; don’t degrade it just because it’s easier to be lazy and churn out crap. That’s my advice.
GW: Can you describe a little of what occurs at the workshop, and as facilitator and teacher, what do see as the most significant challenge for struggling writers?
MS: Obviously the most significant challenge for struggling writers is to get published. No matter how talented you are there’s always the possibility you’ll be overlooked while some hack goes on to superstardom. But then no one ever said life is fair. As for my erotic writing workshops, I run them just as I do a university writing course. I give participants lots of set exercises to do both in class and out of class, and I provide lectures as well. It’s a very comprehensive course, and the feedback that has come back to me has been overwhelmingly positive. The main challenge for me is to get people who are hesitant to write anything particularly explicit to set aside their inhibitions. You get this tiptoeing around--I call it “bashful prose"--which is perfectly understandable for first-time writers of erotica. However, they soon feel at ease both with me as their tutor and with the others in the course. In residential workshops such as the ones I do in Greece it’s even easier, because the group gets to know each other and bonds-- they realize they’re all in the same boat. I should add that they’re always surprised when they meet me for the first time. I’m not quite sure what they expect-- probably some pretentious sexpot wearing a black Lycra cat suit and carrying a whip. Granted, I may be a taskmaster in my courses, but I don’t go about with a whip!
GW: As someone who has always reveled in erotica as literature, I can praise the influence of Anais Nin and Erica Jong, for example, upon my own erotic writing and the genre itself. Can you define some of the particular distinctions for you as both a writer and editor that hallmark true literary erotica?
MS: Unfortunately the term “literary erotica" has been seriously abused. I recently said to another interviewer that these people who go around calling themselves writers of literary erotica are under the impression that they’re worthy of this designation because they spell all the words correctly in their work. A harsh assessment, but a well-deserved one. What I believe distinguishes true literary erotica is artistic prose, a sophisticated use of language, work that doesn’t aim for the lowest common denominator. It’s that old one-handed read versus two-handed read argument, which I think is fairly self-explanatory. I am absolutely serious when I use the word art-- that we should be creating art, not churning out some one-handed drivel. Erotica has been disparaged enough. Why disparage it even more?
GW: I know it's practically impossible to not imagine yourself as a writer. But if you weren't an author or an editor, what profession do you think you'd pursue?
MS: I’ve already pursued other professions: fashion design, fine art, graphic design, journalism and public relations. I don’t think there’s much left in the creative arts, other than rock star! I suppose that’s the obvious one, since I studied music and even took at stab at songwriting. Unfortunately I’m probably too old to start now. Not sure I’d want to anyway….
GW: What writing projects are you currently aiming to bring to fruition in the next two years?
MS: What’s definitely on the table is my next anthology, Foreign Affairs: Erotic Travel Tales, which will be out in the autumn of this year. I’m also wrapping up an anthology of erotica featuring famous historical characters, the title of which I’m still mulling over. That will be published in 2005. I’ve got another anthology of erotica inspired by classical mythology presently under consideration by publishers, and two other anthology ideas I’ll start the contributor ball rolling on very soon. There’s also my novel in progress, The Wren. I’ve been writing some non-fiction as well, mostly articles for magazines, that sort of thing. I’ve done some scholarly papers on erotic literature, one of which I presented last year at a creative writing conference at the University of Wales; it will be published in an upcoming issue of Moist literary journal. I now need to start work on another scholarly paper to present at a conference on tourism and literature at the upcoming Harrogate Festival this summer. Obviously I will be focusing on erotic travel literature. I think it’s important to do these kinds of things, since it gives my creative work even more of a stamp of legitimacy in literary and academic circles. And hell, it gets me out of the house.
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