When Dorinda suggested that we interview our favorite under-sung writers on OS I had to meditate on it for a while before I chose. I love more writers than I can mention and some of the ones I love get plenty of EP's and front pages. I mean, Persephone? The best of what I write has maybe 3 layers to it. What P13 writes is an endless, sweet Vidalia onion-- layers upon layers of textured sweetness that leave you crying, crying…. And my sweet ((Toms)) don’t need my help, neither.

But then Miss Delia Black threatened to take her Barbie’s and leave! And I thought; even though Miss Delia has had a few EP's in her day, she could still use a few more eyeballs on her blog. Because, you know what? That girl can go from zero to brilliant faster than you can say Johnny Cash. In one sentence she can take you from hard guffaw to stunned silent grief. Talent? Yeah, she’s got it. And her sweet entreaty to that devil M. Chariot is so funny that you will need to change your drawers after reading. I am not kidding. You thought that only the animals (squirrel, Sheldon my darling) could make you wet yourself laughing? Think again, people.

So without further ado, I give you the incomparable, DELIA BLACK!!!

1. What is your favorite post on your own blog? What prompted you to write it? What did you learn from the comments others posted on that blog?

Hmmmm.....There is a first post that was little read...a long post about protesting the School of the Americas (there was a short one on that, too). I guess I enjoyed talking about my favorite movies. In general on all posts I have received a lot of support, which I appreciate. I have liked the funny posts, but The Tingly Feeling of Truth was maybe the most important moment I've had recently. People told me their own stories of what they had overcome and how they were advised to keep going on. One woman said her mother, when she found out that her own cancer was terminal, told her, "Don't let this ruin you." Sometimes it is still hard not to do that.

2. Who are your favorite writers on OS? What do you admire about their writing? What particular blog of theirs would you recommend that others read? Can you quote a paragraph or so and explain what you like about it?

I am not lying when I say there are so many talented people here that I hate to name a few. There are many lyrical people, many funny people, many people who eloquently explain very difficult subjects. I couldn't name just a few favorites, but you are one. I never get to read on here as much as I like. The computer won't let me cut and paste it, but in your post, "My Sweetheart is Dying," you juxtapose harsh, black and white realities of the cancer he is facing with your memories. When you talk about leading him through the maze of cables backstage and realizing that you loved him("The moment I grabbed his hand he squeezed mine and in that tiny moment there was everything....Everything that we would be to each other... was cupped in our palms at that moment."), it becomes a metaphor for how you led each other through so many obstacles in life. The image is pared down and simple, but it resounds throughout the piece. These are the things I appreciate.

   
3. You studied abroad for a year. What did you like the best and least about living in the U.K.?

I was excited to go to the U.K. because I had never been out of the country before. I even fancied (privately) that perhaps I would like to make a life there. It is true that no matter how much you like where you travel, for me at least, it does make you appreciate home. I found friends who went deeper than the usual frat party talk of my home university. I liked how easy it was to travel there and on the continent of Europe ( train system was great). We got a month off for Easter in a less stringently religious country and were treated more like adults (though the dorms had maids!), but I felt somehow like it was a vacation from my real life. Sometimes I still feel that I haven't found my real life, but I do miss England and the person that I was then.

4. What famous non-OS writers/artists influence your writing? Who do you read and what do you like about their writing?

I like Sylvia Plath. She just comes to mind first, I wouldn't say I am her biggest fan. I admit that I can't "get" all her poetry and as I grow older, she seems more intense...too much so, I realize. Ann Sexton could also create great, spare images ("refusing to be blessed, throat, eye, and knucklebone"). My favorite book is by Margaret Atwood, The Blind Assassin. She can weave so many stories together--a science fiction story and a love story are threaded through a historical biography. I liked American Psycho for its vicious dark humor that was painful at times. I recently read A Confederacy of Dunces and was saddened by the circumstances of the author's death. I thought he was hilarious, though a little...uneven in one section.

5. What are your pet phobias, philias and neuroses?

GOD! (Yes, that is a big one--kidding, sort of.) Um, I can't stand a wet chewing sound. I am sometimes afraid of the dark. I used to be able to watch horror movies, but, strangely, as I've grown up, I can't take them so well. I am interested in but slightly afraid of snakes.

6. “wet chewing sound” ::shiver:: Who is your favorite hero/heroine of fiction?

I still have a place for The Catcher in the Rye's Holden Caulfield. I still reread that book at times, and it reads a little differently each time. I remember how everything seemed phony and everyone seemed to be "selling out" when I was a certain age. I want to hold onto that feeling, recognize it is sometimes flawed, but recognize "growing up" ain't all that it's cracked up to be.

7. Oh, I feel ya’ there. Mmmmhmm. Can I fix you another mint julep or would you prefer an ice tea, instead? 

I love sweet tea. I recently had a Long Island ice tea after a funeral. I was warned that I would be on the floor, but it made my family more tolerable.


8. Are you over your obsession with M. Chariot?

I will never be over that fella. He never splained why he wouln't tutel me! I warned him NOt to Read the bathROom WAlll at The Outbakc Steakhouse.

There are so many people on here, though, that could easily turn into a new obsession. What are you up to tonight? ;)

9. Who, me? I’m just drinkin gin straight from the dog bowl….there’s enough for two, tho. What would you like others to know about you as a writer or person that you feel has not been adequately presented through your previous blogs?

I have really, really big boobs. (Maybe now I'll get a better seat.)

10. (jealous) In other news: Peanut butter: crunchy or smooth?

Both are good at times. If YOu're Havin fun iN the Bathroom at the OutbAack Steakhouse, then SMOOOOTH can be cleaned off the Wall easiEr.


11. You mention that you are writing a heart-wrenching novel about the worst thing that ever happened to you. How far along are you, and do you have a publisher? Will you post excerpts here?

I have done quite a bit of outlining but am only a few chapters in. It's like I write pieces of one part, then pieces of another from further in the book and am not sure how to fit it together. I don't think I will post it here.

Thank ya, thankyaverymuch.