GhostWriter is by far one of my favorite writers here on OS. Always pushing the limits for sure - I love it! Sometimes simple, but always always deep and evocative - I hope you enjoy this in-depth look at one of the most creative, thought-provoking bloggers here on OS.... 

1. Were you born a ghost or did you turn into a ghost? If so, when and how - and do you consider yourself a funny ghost or a spooky ghost???
I consider myself spooky/funny. However, I notice my sense of humor is different from most …curious. And was I born this way? Sister, I’ve worked damn hard for what I’ve got!

2. Tell me about graveyards. Why do you like them so? Do you have a favorite? Do you visit often? Do you hang out with other ghosts? Hehehehehe.
There is a large graveyard nearby that’s particularly fantastic—miles and miles of winding gravelly roads up and down tremendous hills. Gorgeous mausoleums. A President no less! Religions like to segregate their dead, but here they’re integrated—at least the Jews and Gentiles are. It’s always so quiet! I like to read the headstones—they tell stories without trying—a narrow birth to death timeline indicates a child, for example. And sometimes, a family plot will have many such headstones. I compare these varying dates to one another, to formal history, to local history. Sometimes, a man will be buried under a headstone also indicating the name and birth date of his beloved soon to be joining but the death remains blank. Did the surviving spouse move on? Some of these family plots were obviously at one time very ornate and thoughtfully designed but have been forgotten—iron railings collapsed, gates hanging precariously from their hinges. I love these. Sometimes the headstones, lining the sharp inclines of hills, find themselves over the years, unfortunately collapsed—the earth isn’t still and dead but shifts and resettles. Over centuries, headstones get upended—I see scores of them folded over like this. Vandals do it too, I know, and I do wonder how many are the result of such, but the pattern indicates this rather than that. Sometimes, trees do it as well—what looks like a comfortable shade tree in one century become a giant with roots the size of pythons pushing everything up and over out of its way in another. I figure, once buried, you’ve only got a handful of years before those who survive you move on or die themselves and then your plot begins its journey back to nothing. Nothing is stable. Not even death.

3. What kind of dreams do you have???
I have normal dreams—flying dreams (gratefully, after a long hiatus), work dreams, nightmares (being chased—very terrifying). I dream in color. I have read text in my dreams. I’ve written poems in my dreams. I’ve written songs. Painted. I sometimes have conversations with people in my dreams—those are most useful.

4. Is there a time in history that absolutely fascinates you? If so, why?
I am fascinated by artifacts—things leftover from another time in space. I don’t gravitate towards any particular era or civilization, but I am drawn to things. If it’s a comb from 3rd century AD, I imagine the hand that held it, wore it. I wonder who she was, what her dreams were, who she loved, what she thought about, etc.

5. Tell me about your favorite writers, and who, if any, have been most inspirational.
I have a hard time with favorites, but as a rule I like the ancient Greeks. Aeschylus, for example, I credit with altering my position on the death penalty from pro to anti. Most people know this line: “He who learns must suffer. Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God."

6. What are your favorite things to write about? Do you write often?
Yes, I write often. I write about two, nearly opposing subjects: drunks and space.

7. Do you have a favorite book(s)?
No. Always, whatever I’m reading now is my favorite. But, just to go with my OS MO, I’ll say Death Tractates by Brenda Hillman.

8. If you could play a leading role in a movie, what role would it be? Why? (could be male or female).
I’ll go with Amalie. Why??? It’s fun. It pokes at you in all the right ways.

9. If you had to choose one favorite female artist and one favorite male artist, who would they be? (Could be actor/actress, musician, writer, etc.).
I can't choose—Mathew Barney for men, maybe Henry Moore. Bernadette Mayer or Patty Smith for femme.

10. Who is your favorite female figure of all time? (historical or mythological)
Billie Jean King—I was young, but I remember what she did. I remember the crowing of men rapidly morphing into cries of agony from the TV room where the adults had gone to watch the match.

11. Do you play an instrument? If not, what is the one instrument you would most love to play?
I poorly play the piano and sorely regret not keeping up with it.

12. I like the bar room brawl scenario, so here's a few more:

Blondie or Pink? Blondie kicks Pink butt to the curb—no contest, even now.

Beyonce or Aretha? Aretha already kicked Beyonce’s derrier—no? or was that Ella?

Madonna or Britney? I wouldn’t mess with Madonna.

Lita (Ford) or Joan (Jett)? Ditto Lita Ford; I saw her in the eighties and she was mean!

13. What is your favorite color?
Turquoise.

14. If you had to choose one place in the world to live now, where would it be?
Redneck Riviera.
 

15. And last, but not least, how did you find OS? Very well, thank you.

Too much fun! Thank you Ghostie!!!!