More To The Story

In this episode I talk with Liz Stephens, one of Under the Gum Tree's previous contributors. Liz is currently growing the Mojave Desert Arts project, a residency and workshop space outside Joshua Tree, California. Recent work can be found in the anthologies Brief Encounters: A Collection of Contemporary Nonfiction and Dirt: A Love Story. Other work can be found in Fourth Genre and Terrain.org, among others. She has served as managing editor of Brevity, and teaches nonfiction with the UCLA Extension Writer’s Program and through private workshops and retreats. Liz’s essay “Because Faint Glitter Came Off Everything” appears in the April 2017 issue of Under the Gum Tree.In this episode we talk about:The difference between journaling and crafting true stories for an audienceHow writing creative nonfiction has taught Liz the craft and structure needed for returning to writing fictonBeing in transition as an adult and part of the artistic classHow places are created, whether people create it or whether place shapes

In this episode I talk with one of Under the Gum Tree's previous contributors, Dorian Fox. Dorian essays, articles and stories have appeared in december, Gastronomica, Alimentum, Monkeybicycle, National Parks Magazine, and elsewhere. His work has also been shortlisted for awards by Ploughshares, Phoebe and The Bellingham Review. He received his MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Emerson College and teaches writing at Grub Street in Boston. His essay "The Other First," appears in the January 2016 issue of Under the Gum Tree.In this episode we talk about:The nakedness that comes with writing nonfiction and claiming your personal experienceHow to not get tripped up by facts when writing nonfictionEmbracing and honoring your own subjective version of truth when writingAnxieties and concerns that develop when we age, and when we age in a relationshipHow we revise, recast, or recalibrate our personal life stories and see it with fresh perspectiveDorian's work teaching at Grub Street in BostonTeaching writing

In this episode I talk with Yahdon Israel, one of Under the Gum Tree's previous contributors. Yahdon is 27-year-old writer from Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, who has written for Avidly, The New Inquiry, Brooklyn Magazine, LitHub, and Poets and Writers. He graduated from the MFA Creative Non-Fiction Writing program at the New School. He is the Awards and Membership VP of the National Book Critics Circle. Run a popular Instagram page which promotes literature and fashion under the hashtag Literaryswag, and host a web show for writers called LIT.In this episode we talk about:Writing as a means to confronting the worldTelling lies to find your voice, and writing as a way to be heardGetting to the truth of feelings through false constructs like memory and objectivityHow James Baldwin has influenced Yahdon as a writerWhite editors and their expectation that black writers should answer their questionsComplexity of asking questions that reveal assumptions and lies we tell ourselvesThe essay as a form of asking questions that m

In this episode I talk with Stephen Gutierrez, one of Under the Gum Tree's previous contributors. Stephen has published three books of stories and essays. Live from Fresno y Los won an American Book Award, and The Mexican Man in His Backyard is his most recent. He has published widely in magazines and anthologies, including nonfiction in Fourth Genre, River Teeth, Under the Sun, Alaska Quarterly Review, Third Coast, ZYZZYVA and Cleaver Magazine. He is working on a collection of essays and hybrid nonfiction. He teaches at California State University East Bay. His essay "Spiritual Direction" appears in the October 2016 issue of Under the Gum Tree.In this episode we talk about:Writing both fiction and nonfiction, and discovering a new voice in nonfictionTaking a stand for writing a positive tribute of a family memberWhat we learn about ourselves and others close to use when we write about familyHow writing can help us learn sympathy for others by being willing to challenge our own beliefsStephen's thre

In this episode I talk with author and Under the Gum Tree contributor Carol Marsh. Carol's essay, “Pictures in Leaves,” won the 2016 New Millennium Writings Nonfiction Prize. Her essay "Highest and Best" received an honorable mention in Under the Gum Tree's inaugural essay contest and appears in the January 2017 issue of the magazine. It is an excerpt from her memoir Nowhere Else I Want to Be. Additional excerpts of her book have appeared in Soundings Review , bioStories, and Jenny magazine.In this episode we talk about:Processing grief and experience through writing creative nonfictionWhy Carol started Miriam's House, a nonprofit shelter for women in Washington, D.C. living with aidsHow writing played a role in maintaining emotional and spiritual health during her time at Miriam's HouseThe importance of self-care when having others to take care and creating physical and emotional boundariesWhy structure is a b***h and how to create it a memoir with multiple storylinesCarol's memoir Nowhere Else I W

In this episode I talk with Ira Sukrungruang, one of Under the Gum Tree's previous contributors. Ira is the author of The Melting Season, Southside Buddhist, Talk Thai, and In Thailand It Is Night. He teaches in the MFA program at University of South Florida. His essay "The Animatronic Dog" appears in the April 2016 issue of Under the Gum Tree.The pen name that Ira used when he used to submit stories to the New Yorker as a teenagerHow Ira shifts between writing in all three genres of poetry, fiction, and nonfictionThe difference between writing personal stories as nonfiction versus autobiographical fictionExploring the meaning of the word "monster," where monsters come from and what we are really afraid ofCrafting segmented essays, determining the sequence and what to include or leave outWhat to do with material that doesn't end up in an essayThe role of being an editor and how it affects Ira's work as a writerThe online literary magazine Sweet, where Ira is a founding editorIra's new memo

In this episode I talk with Matt Young, one of Under the Gum Tree's previous contributors. Matt is a marine veteran, writer, and teacher. He lives in Olympia, Washington where he teaches at Central College. He holds an MA in creative writing from Miami University. His work can be found in Yemassee, Word Riot, Tin House, River Teeth, and others. His essay "Equal and Opposite" appears in the July 2016 issue of Under the Gum Tree. His memoir Eat the Apple comes out in February 2018.In this episode we talk about:How Matt came to writing after his military careerNavigating the often conflicting identities of being both a war veteran and a writerDealing with re-traumatization when writing memoirDifferent types of reactions Matt experiences to his military storiesMatt's new memoir Eat the Apple, which will be published February 2018 and available for preorder nowVisit Matt online at http://mattyoungauthor.com/ or on Twitter at @young_em_seeVisit us online at moretothestorypodcast.com and visit Under the Gu

Welcome to episode seven of More to the Story, a podcast all about telling true stories and sharing them with the world!In this episode, I talk with previous Under the Gum Tree contributor, Penny Guisinger. Penny Guisinger lives and writes on the easternmost tip of Maine. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Fourth Genre, River Teeth, Guernica, the Brevity blog, Solstice, Under the Gum Tree, and others. Her first book, Postcards from Here, was recently released by Vine Leaves Press. Her second book, Shift, is in progress. Penny is the founding director of Iota: Short Prose Conference and a graduate of the Stonecoast MFA Program. She lives with two dogs, two kids, her wife, and a family of porcupines that trundle across the lawn like bulldozers.In this episode, we talk about:Penny’s new book, Postcards from HereWriting short-short prose, and assembling a bookFinding material to write about by paying attentionGetting published, and finding the exact right home for your workIncriminating ourself one the pa

Welcome to episode six of More to the Story, a podcast all about telling true stories and sharing them with the world!In this episode, I talk with previous Under the Gum Tree contributor, Maddy Walsh. Maddy is the lead singer and primary songwriter for Ithaca, NY-based, nationally touring, seven-piece moxy rock band The Blind Spots. She received her Bachelor's degree in English and Creative Writing from the State University of New York at Binghamton in 2005 and received her Master’s degree in the same field from California State University Sacramento in 2007. Her thesis was a manuscript of poetry, the form that most heavily influences her songwriting. Maddy’s essay “Placer County Jail” appears in the October 2012 issue of Under the Gum Tree and was listed as a notable in The Best American Essays 2013. Learn more about her current work, visit www.theblindspots.com and maddmoxy.blogspot.com.In this episode, we talk about:Discovering cohesive of a life story without spewing unnecessary detailsWriting and sharing

Welcome to episode five of More to the Story, a podcast all about telling true stories and sharing them with the world!In this episode I talk with former Under the Gum Tree contributor, Timothy Kenny. Tim is a former USA Today foreign editor, a non profit foundation executive, a Fulbright scholar, and associate professor of journalism at the university of Connecticut. In addition to USA today, his reporting and op-ed piece shave appears in the Toronto Star, The Los Angeles Time, The Wall Street Journal Europe, The Chicago Tribune, among many others. His narrative nonfiction has appeared in several literary magazines including the Kenyon Review Online, the Louisville Review, the Gettysburg Review, and of course Under the Gum Tree. His piece “Turning 66 and 6 in Umbria,” appears in the January 2013 issue of Under the Gum Tree. Tim’s first book is a collection of creative nonfiction entitled Far Country: Stories from Abroad and Other Places, and it was just published in May 2015. Before we get to the interview,

Welcome to episode four of More to the Story, a podcast all about telling true stories and sharing them with the world!In this episode I talk with former Under the Gum Tree contributor, Samuel Autman. Samuel is a member of DePauw University's writing faculty in Greencastle, Indiana where he specializes in the personal essay. "Invisible Nails" won first place in the SLS-DISQUIET 2015 Literary Contest in the nonfiction category. His work has appeared in The Chalk Circle: Prizewinning Intercultural Essays, Black Gay Genius: Answering Joseph Beam's Call, Ninth Letter, The Common Reader, Under the Gum Tree, Brevity: A Journal of Concise Literary Nonfiction, I'm Black and I Travel, The Huffington Post and The Good Men Project. His essay “The Tongues of Angels” appears in issue seven of Under the Gum Tree, published in April 2013.In this episode, we talk about:Samuel’s writing background and what draws him to creative nonfictionThe difference between journalism and narrative nonfictionHow journalism inform

Welcome to episode three of More to the Story, a podcast all about telling true stories and sharing them with the world!In this episode I talk with former Under the Gum Tree contributor, Kate Washington. Kate is a writer based in Sacramento, California. Her work has appeared in such publications as The Washington Post, Yoga Journal, Sunset and the Bellingham Review, and she is a contributing writer at Sactown magazine. She is a co-founder of Roan Press, a small nonprofit literary press. Kate’s essay “Promises Like Piecrust” appears in the October 2014 issue of Under the Gum Tree, and it was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.In this episode, we talk about:Kate’s writing background and what draws her to creative nonfictionThe impetus for “Promises Like Piecrust”Precise language and descriptions when writing about foodChristina Rosetti’s poem “Promises Like Piecrust,” and pies during the Victoria AgePromises, what they mean, and what happens when we inevitably break themLiving with a mother who has bipolar disorder

Welcome to episode two of More to the Story, a podcast all about telling true stories and sharing them with the world!Today I talk with previous Under the Gum Tree contributor Laurie Easter. Laurie writes from her home in Southern Oregon where she lives in a funky little cabin off the grid and on the edge of wilderness. She holds an MFA in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and has been awarded a fellowship to the Vermont Studio Center. Her work has appeared in Hippocampus Magazine, Connotation Press: An Online Artifact, and Oregon English Journal. She is working on an essay collection about loss and grief. Her essay, “Something to do With Baldness,” appears in the January 2014 issue of Under the Gum Tree, and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.In this episode, we talk about:Laurie’s writing background and what draws her to creative nonfictionThe impetus for writing “Something to do With Baldness”Writing about griefLaurie’s experience shaving her headFemininity and the perception of beautyThe sometimes

Welcome to episode one of More to the Story, a podcast all about telling true stories and sharing them with the world!In this episode I interview previous Under the Gum Tree contributor, Katy Sargent. Katy is a recent graduate from the Stonecoast MFA program. She is a freelance, nonfiction writer who dabbles in screenwriting. She lives in South Portland, Maine with her husband, two daughters and three chickens. Her story, “Long Play,” was published in the April 2014 issue of Under the Gum Tree, and she is one of four writers we published that year who were nominated for the Pushcart Prize, which is one of the most coveted literary awards.In this episode, we talk about:Katy’s writing background and what draws her to writing creative nonfictionJo Ann Beard The Boys of My Youth and In ZanesvilleThe origin of her story “Long Play”How connection to objects shapes our memoriesBorn Standing Up: A Comic’s Life, Steve Martin’s memoirVisit Katy online at enter link description herekatherinesargent.comVisit us online a

Welcome to the pilot episode of More to the Story, a podcast all about telling true stories and sharing them with the world!In this first episode, I talk about:What to expect from this first season of More to the StoryWhat it means to tell stories without shameWhere the name Under the Gum Tree comes fromMy story “The Gum Tree”Sign up for Under the Gum Tree email list and get a free digital copy of the Premiere issue!Find more information about the magazine at UndertheGumTree.comVisit us online at moretothestorypodcast.com. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit moretothestorypodcast.substack.com