{"id":1207,"date":"2020-09-15T20:48:58","date_gmt":"2020-09-15T20:48:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/staging\/1921\/?p=1207"},"modified":"2020-09-17T21:50:56","modified_gmt":"2020-09-17T21:50:56","slug":"damn-bandit-the-self-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/staging\/1921\/damn-bandit-the-self-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Damn Bandit: The Self-Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

To kick things off, and to encourage upcoming Bandits, I decided to answer the interview questions myself. It’s scary to go first!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

1. What is the best thing that has been said\/written about your writing?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Wow, I\u2019m already going to cheat and say two. But I have a good reason! One is in reference to the title of this interview series. The other is in reference to my vanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s start with the fun one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In Jessa Crispin\u2019s now-defunct Bookslut<\/a> (RIP), the poet, critic, and publisher Gina Myers<\/a> reviewed my book of poems, HARD REDS<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Myers said, \u201cA little like Johnny Rotten<\/a>, Homan may not know what she wants, but she knows how to get it.<\/em>\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have never, ever felt so seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This may be the most astute thing anyone has said about me, even if she is talking about my work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus, Gina, you get me. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

But let\u2019s move to the second instance, the one behind the title of this series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In a conversation with a mentor discussing my work on BURN FORTUNE<\/a>, she told me that I wrote like a \u201cdamn bandit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did I believe her? Not really.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did I write it down in my notebook anyway? Yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did I keep mulling that phrase over and over until later, when I needed to convince myself to keep writing, and then use rainbow glitter stickers to spell it out down the spine of a lime green notebook?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, yes, I did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two words\u2014Two! Words!\u2014kept me going.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And now I want to hear what words have kept others going. That\u2019s what this space is for\u2014language in its uses as a life-preserving force and, by contrast, a destructive one as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What incredible power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

2. What is the worst thing that has been said\/written about your writing?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

A professor in a graduate workshop once said that the speaker of my poem was \u201caiming for mediocrity<\/em>.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This professor knew, as did everyone in the workshop, that the \u201cspeaker\u201d was me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It took me a hot second to put together the classist assumptions behind that phrase, but I held onto it as a reminder that this is how some people view me, my life experiences, and the places I come from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hold onto it still.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

3. What is the best writing advice you\u2019ve been given?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not sure it\u2019s the best, but it\u2019s definitely been the most practical. The poet Sterling Plumpp<\/a> once said in class that for every rejection we got back, to take the poems out of the envelope (yes, a paper one!), put them in another envelope, and send them out to another publisher without even looking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also to send out lots of poems, like 20 packets at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I did these things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not long after this, Sterling won a million dollars in the lottery (true story<\/a>!) and retired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think it\u2019s safe to say he deserved it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

4. What is the worst writing advice that you\u2019ve been given?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The thing that comes to mind now is actually some advice I gave, not the other way around. My husband\u2019s young cousin Luke came and had dinner with us once when he was in town visiting. He wanted to be a writer and asked if he needed to write every day.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I told him no.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I now think this is terrible advice, depending on what kind of writer you want to be in the world. The kind of writer who I want to be in the world changes all the time<\/strong>, but I think that if you are a writer who wants to earn a living by writing, yes, you should writer every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do I write every day? Nope. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do I try? Yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m so sorry, Cousin Luke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

5. Who writes like a Damn Bandit?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

This is by far my favorite question of the five. I could name so many Bandits!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Khadijah Queen, Janice Lee, Poupeh Missaghi, Diana Khoi Nguyen, Julia Madsen, Laird Hunt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lily Hoang, Steven Dunn, Hillary Leftwich, Aimee Bender, Lindsay Hunter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jennifer Denrow, Mona Awad, Teresa Carmody, Scott McClanahan, Sam Pink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I could go on, but I\u2019ll (hopefully) let them speak for themselves here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s get going!<\/strong> ?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To kick things off, and to encourage upcoming Bandits, I decided to answer the interview questions myself. It’s scary to go first! 1. What is the best thing that has been said\/written about your writing? Wow, I\u2019m already going to cheat and say two. But I have a good reason! One is in reference to… Read More »Damn Bandit: The Self-Interview<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nDamn Bandit: The Self-Interview Brandi Homan<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"To kick things off, and to encourage upcoming Bandits, I decided to answer the interview questions myself. It's scary to go first!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/damn-bandit-the-self-interview\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Damn Bandit: The Self-Interview Brandi Homan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"To kick things off, and to encourage upcoming Bandits, I decided to answer the interview questions myself. It's scary to go first!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/damn-bandit-the-self-interview\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Brandi Homan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-09-15T20:48:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-09-17T21:50:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Homan-Headshot-2020-copy.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brandihoman.com\\\/damn-bandit-the-self-interview\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brandihoman.com\\\/damn-bandit-the-self-interview\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brandihoman.com\\\/staging\\\/1921\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9882fd516affecb1dfe9eb7ce41a06f0\"},\"headline\":\"Damn Bandit: The Self-Interview\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-09-15T20:48:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-09-17T21:50:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brandihoman.com\\\/damn-bandit-the-self-interview\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":712,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brandihoman.com\\\/staging\\\/1921\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9882fd516affecb1dfe9eb7ce41a06f0\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brandihoman.com\\\/damn-bandit-the-self-interview\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brandihoman.com\\\/staging\\\/1921\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/Homan-Headshot-2020-copy.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brandihoman.com\\\/damn-bandit-the-self-interview\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brandihoman.com\\\/damn-bandit-the-self-interview\\\/\",\"name\":\"Damn Bandit: The Self-Interview Brandi Homan\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brandihoman.com\\\/staging\\\/1921\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brandihoman.com\\\/damn-bandit-the-self-interview\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brandihoman.com\\\/damn-bandit-the-self-interview\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brandihoman.com\\\/staging\\\/1921\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/Homan-Headshot-2020-copy.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-09-15T20:48:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-09-17T21:50:56+00:00\",\"description\":\"To kick things off, and to encourage upcoming Bandits, I decided to answer the interview questions myself. It's scary to go first!\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brandihoman.com\\\/damn-bandit-the-self-interview\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/brandihoman.com\\\/damn-bandit-the-self-interview\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brandihoman.com\\\/damn-bandit-the-self-interview\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/brandihoman.com\\\/staging\\\/1921\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/Homan-Headshot-2020-copy.jpg?fit=500%2C460&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/brandihoman.com\\\/staging\\\/1921\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/Homan-Headshot-2020-copy.jpg?fit=500%2C460&ssl=1\",\"width\":500,\"height\":460},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brandihoman.com\\\/damn-bandit-the-self-interview\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brandihoman.com\\\/staging\\\/1921\\\/da528-homepage\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Damn Bandit: The Self-Interview\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brandihoman.com\\\/staging\\\/1921\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brandihoman.com\\\/staging\\\/1921\\\/\",\"name\":\"Brandi Homan\",\"description\":\"Writer & Editor\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brandihoman.com\\\/staging\\\/1921\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9882fd516affecb1dfe9eb7ce41a06f0\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brandihoman.com\\\/staging\\\/1921\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/brandihoman.com\\\/staging\\\/1921\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9882fd516affecb1dfe9eb7ce41a06f0\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Damn Bandit: The Self-Interview Brandi Homan","description":"To kick things off, and to encourage upcoming Bandits, I decided to answer the interview questions myself. It's scary to go first!","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/damn-bandit-the-self-interview\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Damn Bandit: The Self-Interview Brandi Homan","og_description":"To kick things off, and to encourage upcoming Bandits, I decided to answer the interview questions myself. It's scary to go first!","og_url":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/damn-bandit-the-self-interview\/","og_site_name":"Brandi Homan","article_published_time":"2020-09-15T20:48:58+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-09-17T21:50:56+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Homan-Headshot-2020-copy.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/damn-bandit-the-self-interview\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/damn-bandit-the-self-interview\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/staging\/1921\/#\/schema\/person\/9882fd516affecb1dfe9eb7ce41a06f0"},"headline":"Damn Bandit: The Self-Interview","datePublished":"2020-09-15T20:48:58+00:00","dateModified":"2020-09-17T21:50:56+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/damn-bandit-the-self-interview\/"},"wordCount":712,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/staging\/1921\/#\/schema\/person\/9882fd516affecb1dfe9eb7ce41a06f0"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/damn-bandit-the-self-interview\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/staging\/1921\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Homan-Headshot-2020-copy.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/damn-bandit-the-self-interview\/","url":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/damn-bandit-the-self-interview\/","name":"Damn Bandit: The Self-Interview Brandi Homan","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/staging\/1921\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/damn-bandit-the-self-interview\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/damn-bandit-the-self-interview\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/staging\/1921\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Homan-Headshot-2020-copy.jpg","datePublished":"2020-09-15T20:48:58+00:00","dateModified":"2020-09-17T21:50:56+00:00","description":"To kick things off, and to encourage upcoming Bandits, I decided to answer the interview questions myself. It's scary to go first!","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/damn-bandit-the-self-interview\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/damn-bandit-the-self-interview\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/damn-bandit-the-self-interview\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brandihoman.com\/staging\/1921\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Homan-Headshot-2020-copy.jpg?fit=500%2C460&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brandihoman.com\/staging\/1921\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Homan-Headshot-2020-copy.jpg?fit=500%2C460&ssl=1","width":500,"height":460},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/damn-bandit-the-self-interview\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/staging\/1921\/da528-homepage\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Damn Bandit: The Self-Interview"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/staging\/1921\/#website","url":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/staging\/1921\/","name":"Brandi Homan","description":"Writer & Editor","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/staging\/1921\/#\/schema\/person\/9882fd516affecb1dfe9eb7ce41a06f0"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/staging\/1921\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/staging\/1921\/#\/schema\/person\/9882fd516affecb1dfe9eb7ce41a06f0","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g"}}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/staging\/1921\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/staging\/1921\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/staging\/1921\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/staging\/1921\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/staging\/1921\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1207"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/staging\/1921\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1207\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1485,"href":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/staging\/1921\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1207\/revisions\/1485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/staging\/1921\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/staging\/1921\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brandihoman.com\/staging\/1921\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}