Hillary Leftwich Is a Damn Bandit
Hillary Leftwich (@hillaryleftwich) is the author of Ghosts Are Just Strangers Who Know How to Knock (CCM Press/The Accomplices 2019), which is featured in Entropy’s Best Fiction list of 2019 and is a finalist for the Big Other Book Award. She is the poetry and prose editor for Heavy Feather Review and runs At the Inkwell Denver, a monthly reading series focusing on creating safe spaces for all voices. Currently, she runs ☿ Al·che·my Author Services and teaches writing at Lighthouse Writers Workshop. She is a Kenyon Review scholarship recipient for 2021 and a visiting writer at Western Illinois University in fall of 2020. Her writing can be found in both print and online in The Rumpus, Entropy, The Missouri Review, Denver Quarterly, Hobart, and others. She lives in Colorado with her partner, her son, and their cat, Larry. Find more of her writing at hillaryleftwich.com.
1. What is the best thing that has been said/written about your writing?
Tobias Carroll said in an interview at Vol. 1 Brooklyn that I write “very candidly about parenting and class in a way I don’t see a lot of writers doing.” This made me so happy because everything I’ve been through as a solo mom and working sometimes dangerous jobs to make money is something I like to confront in my writing and want others to read about.
2. What is the worst thing that has been said/written about your writing?
A man once said, “It’s so cute when you try to write poetry.” Every time I sit down to write, not just poetry but anything, I always remind myself that I am a woman, and folks will never take me seriously unless I am serious about my writing.
3. What is the best writing advice you’ve been given?
Someone a long time ago told me, “write what you know.” This isn’t a new piece of advice, but he was right. He was telling me to stop trying to write like other writers and never be ashamed to write about my life as a single mother, as a maid, as a tattoo model, or any of the things I’ve had to do to make money. “There’s an audience for you if you’re honest and genuine.” And he was right.
4. What is the worst writing advice you’ve been given?
You have to be cutthroat to win.
Well, if “winning” involves hurting others along the way I’d rather be a giant loser. Support other writers and your communities. That’s more important than winning.
5. Who writes like a Damn Bandit?
Akusua Akoto, Ahja Fox, Faylita Hicks, Kali Fajardo-Anstine, S. A. Cosby, Khadijah Queen, Julia Madsen, Tameca L. Coleman, Gina Tron, Carmen Maria Machado, and Ocean Vuong.
Photo credit: Jay Halsey