11 Aug

Meet the Editors: Charlotte San Juan

reclusegirlBelow is an interview with Charlotte San Juan, Poetry Editor for East Jasmine Review.

  1. How do you decide to accept or reject a piece? For poetry, the last line can’t suck. If you have two or three great lines but your ending falls off, it’s like you’re deflating a balloon in my face. Also, I’ve been taught to detest the bullet-spray of adverbs and obvious rhymes. I admire a writer who tinkers with unconventional imagery and language to convey something, even if it’s just a small something.
  2. How long do you usually spend with a piece before you decide? I give each piece 2-3 read-throughs if possible before deciding. Sometimes one read is all it takes to know if I love it or not, but I’ve had a ‘maybe’ poem grow a bit on me after another read.
  3. What is your favorite piece from East Jasmine Review? I like a piece of all the pieces.
  4. What is your vision for East Jasmine? To read through it and say, “Yeah, I stand by all of this work.” To be consistently surprised by the quality, regardless of the author’s background.
  5. What is your favorite publication (excluding ours!)?I don’t play favorites, but some great ones are Carnival, Cadence Collective and Washing Machine Press (currently on hiatus).
  6. What is your favorite poem? “Any fool can get into an ocean…” by Jack Spicer
  7. What project(s) are you working on now? I’m working on a poetry chapbook that has much to do with traveling.  I’m also working on a collection of hopeful non-fiction pieces, but it’s still super secret. Even to me.
  8. Do you have a writing schedule? How do you write? Back when I was a kid, I was able to write for hours at a time because I wasn’t afraid of anything. Now I sit down and have anxiety attacks over finishing one poem. What I’m trying to say is, I get the most done between 1-4am, sober or not.
  9. Name someone influential in your writing life. John Brantingham, author of hundreds of poems, stories and essays published in the US and UK.  Without this bearded man’s guidance, I would never have had the courage or know-how to submit my work anywhere. I’m not only a better writer because of him, but I’m also published and a tad more sarcastic.
  10. What is one thing you always get on a hamburger/sandwich? Pickles, unless we’re talking pb&j.
  11. What is your favorite, unusually-named color? Shame.
  12. Cat or dog, or other furry-creature person? Cats and ferrets. I’ve never had either of those hump anything in front of me.
  13. What are your three favorite TV shows, airing or not airing? Breaking Bad, the seasons of which I finished watching illegally in China. Arrested Development and Parks and Recreation, because I have go-to people that watch them with me, and I get tired of laughing alone.
  14. What is your Harry Potter House or Game of Thrones House? Slytherin, for Harry Potter. I think I’m the only person who hasn’t watched Game of Thrones yet.
  15. Which well-known personality is your spirit animal? Does Thom Yorke count as a spirit animal?