SHORT 'N SWEET: THE BOOK SPEAKS: The Bamboo Wife

How would you, The Bamboo Wife, describe yourself in two sentences or less?

I offer tales about what we do when we find ourselves stiff, empty, and ensnared. I offer failures: how we stumble as parents and lovers and how we disappoint as children. I tell of people tethered by duty and responsibility—and also by love. My speakers and subjects strive for freedoms and happiness just beyond their reach.

Where would you go on your dream vacation?

If you hadn’t asked for my “dream” vacation, I would have said Seaside, Florida. Those sugar-sand beaches are gorgeous, and I have enjoyed some beautiful summers there with lovely book friends who understand exactly what I am and what I’m trying to do. There is also a lovely bookstore there—Sundog Books— where people have thumbed through my pages and bought copies of me. But since you asked for my dream vacation, I’ll say a well-appointed beach hut in Kelingking, Bali. I think I could find some peace there, and maybe I’d meet some new people who’d wish to wallow in the unsparing truths splashed across my pages. And I could find some wonderful fresh citrus cocktails, too!

What is your favorite color?

Red. This is no surprise, as it’s the color of passion and love and courage and also aggression and sin and redemption (think the Bible, here).

What is your favorite movie?

My favorite film is, perhaps surprisingly, Young Frankenstein. Despite my somber tones, I love to laugh, and no one makes me laugh more than Mel Brooks. His characters are memorably silly, and his gags are for the ages. It’s a nice antidote to most of my subjects which are, admittedly, dark.

What advice would a therapist give you?

Make an appointment.

What is your favorite smell?

I love the smell of my child’s hair. Well, she’s not my child, but she is a frequent character in my pages and so I think of her as mine. I love the scent of its clean oils that come through no matter what she’s used on it. It smells new and good—full of possibility and hope.

Do you collect anything, and what do these items mean to you?

I have never been a collector of things; I collect damaged people. I call them my “Menagerie of Broken Things,” which is the title of one of my poems. Once, someone close to me described my friends as “damaged little creatures,” and I suppose they are. They appear in my pages, and I love them all.

What is your favorite snack?

I’m sure this sounds unusual, but I love King Oscar Kipper Snacks—herring fillets. The tins come wrapped in these red and gold plastic wrappers, and an old friend, one of my recurring characters, used to buy them for his child when she was a girl. Those two were the only ones who seemed to like them, and so he bought them for the two of them. She would wait up for him when he worked the late shift, and in the early hours of the morning they would eat them together. She counts them among her favorite memories of childhood, and so I love them, too.

If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be and why?

I have given this question some thought, as it’s a common cocktail party conversation, and I’ve had a lot of cocktails. I’ve loved the music of Bruce Springsteen my whole life. He is a marvelous storyteller, and he writes about good, regular folks trying to make their way in a brutal world in the best way they can. His empathy for people is not only demonstrated through his lyrics but also tonally through the music itself. “The River” is, to me, one of the finest songs ever written. I think he’d have something to teach me about taking what’s in the human heart and setting it to music.