Behind the Masthead: Kyle Bassett

Our newest poetry editor, Kyle Bassett, discusses Louie C.K., music, and spirit animals with intern Shelby Heinrich.

Shelby Heinrich: What exactly does it mean to be the poetry editor at HFR? What are your main responsibilities?

Kyle Bassett: To me, it means the world. I have the daily opportunity to read work that advances the frontlines of poetry. As one of two poetry editors for HFR, the responsibilities are split between Jackie and myself. While this sounds pretty ‘kush’, as the kids say, it actually makes me work even harder (in a good way). When I find a piece I love, I have to fight for it. Sometimes I lose, and that sucks. But it keeps me honest. There are instances where I love a piece the first time I read it, then I get conflicting opinions and I either have to justify my tastes or cede that I missed something. For me, reading and editing a journal is just as important as studying the classics and theory.

SH: What do you feel is important to look for when selecting poetry for HFR? Is there a certain “oomph” that it needs to have?

KB: I’ll do my best to not make this a New Yorker-length response. When I sit down to read submissions I have cleared my palate by reading around 5 to 6 different poets whom I’m interested in at the time. I try to spice it up across the poetic schools and time-periods so that I am not going in with a limited view. This practice, I hope, forces me to slow down when I read submissions, and to read them in their entirety - sometimes there is gold at the end of a cliché filled rainbow. 

One of the biggest things I am looking for in any given piece is originality. That may sound trite, but I think about it the same way I think about stand-up comedy. I have a weird compulsion where I create little stand-up bits in my head when I’m falling asleep at night. One of the biggest rules of comedy is don’t steal material, so when I come up with these bits in my head, I’m thinking has someone else made this joke/observation/correlation before? If the answer is yes, and I’m not doing it in a new way, I abandon the bit and start over. The same goes for submissions. I want to see a piece fresh in both observation and language. King Solomon said there is no new thing under the sun, but he never heard Louie C.K. talk about raising kids or Mark Bibbins talking about the War in Afghanistan. There is a finite number of things to be talked about, but an infinite number of ways in which to talk about them.

As for the “oomph” factor, I would actually select whatever onomatopoetic word one would use to imitate the last note of an a cappella choir. I had the amazing fortune of studying with Erin Belieu last summer, and this description is one I inherited from her. It’s the idea of a choir cutting out on that last note, and yet the sound of their voice is still hanging in the air. When I find a poem like that, I usually have to set the book down in my lap. That is the type of moment I am looking for in a poem.

SH: What form of poetry have you personally been into lately?

KB: All of them. Seriously. Poetry and music are intertwined to me (sorry Alfred Corn), and anyone who knows me knows the genres of my music library - like my text library - are ridiculously infrequent and responsible for most of my debt. Now that I’m moving into my 3^rd year in the MFA program, I’ve had to build – and buy –  my comps reading-list. I have since gained substantial airline miles with said purchase. And just like music, I find two distinct pleasure in my  consumption of poetry: discovery of the new and revisiting old favorites.

On a more tangible level, this weekend I read portions of Lunch Poems – Frank O’Hara, Freak Show – Valerie Bandura, The Collected Works – W.S. Merwin, The Groom Falconer – Norman Dubie, Difficult Weather – Rose Solari, The Dance of No Hard Feelings – Mark Bibbins, and Dolls – John Poch. I would highly recommend all of the above. I also feel the need to confess that this was the first time I’d ever read Lunch Poems; it was like drinking a Vampire Weekend song.

SH: How would you describe HFR to someone who knows nothing about it?

KB: Like the desert-floor at midnight: dark, cool, and full of life. 

SH: What is your spirit animal?           

KB: The Quokka

Behind the Masthead: Editors at Work

When we're not reading, we're writing. This is where the magic happens.

"This chair was my husband's grandpa's.  The sun hits it perfectly in the late afternoon and I just sink in and scribble away before everyone else gets home at night.  At least one dog is usually around to lay on my feet and its close to the record player so I can be swallowed up by tunes while I work." -Chelsea H., Editor

"I bought this desk for $5 dollars at a surplus store, and the typewriter was the best goodwill find in my own personal history of thrifting. The desk faces East and overlooks the McDowell Mountain Range from my 3rd floor patio. The desk has a shelf underneath that holds my space heater for chilly nights - also, my cat, Thesis, loves hide there and fall asleep on the cool metal." - Kyle B., Poetry Editor

"I was going to post a picture of my desk, with its incense holder and neat pile of books and potted cacti and shaded lamp, but this feels way more honest. More often than not, I do my writing on the dining room table - one of my housemates barely visible behind a messy pile of overdo library books, a full bag of snacks close by (usually less respectable than pretzels), a pen "borrowed" from my latest hotel stay on hand, and one of my housemates' many pets stalking behind my laptop screen." - Dana D., Editor

"'Isn't the exterior an old intimacy lost in the shadow of memory?' -Gaston Bachelard" - Alex M., International Editor

"My workspace is in the living area of my apartment. I'm usually crosslegged on the small sofa typing away. I love this comfy spot because of its natural lighting, bright colors and my chirpy parakeet who sits by the window." - Jackie B., Poetry Editor

"This cozy space, nestled in the comforting bosom of my television, serves as my central writing zone, or WriteZone. To keep this brief I'll stick to an inventory of the present: a desk procured from the freshly-soaped back alley of a Christian university; a chair mined from a Xerox subsidiary--well worn in the pivotal places; a lamp and shade with unknown origins; roughly 84 unread Cease & Desist letters from local delis concerning an undisclosed personal matter; and one cat--a known associate and a cappella partner of a myriad of local shelter-bound street cats." - Gary G., Prose Editor

"My workspace is in my living room. The desk has a fake marble top. I got a nice deal on it from the furniture store I bought it from because it was damaged, but it's nothing you can see from the picture. I always keep candy at my desk, mostly to hand out to people that I ignore when I'm done ignoring them, but I also occasionally will have a piece. There are two pictures above my desk. One is a picture of a plant and is framed. One is a portrait a DJ did of me at a party. The portrait is done on a small paper plate. The fake tree in the corner is paramount to me sitting down to do anything at the desk for any significant amount of time. I like to pretend I can harness some kind of creative energy from it." - Dustin P., Editor

Behind the Masthead: Alex McElroy

Happy Cyber Monday! Our FREE, LIMITED TIME gift to you: an interview with international editor Alex McElroy.

Leslie Verdugo: If asked by someone else, what would you try to do to get out of the question about your position as International Editor at HFR?

Alex McElroy: I would simply say that I select and edit international work. If pressed on the question, I will artfully avoid answering and put questions to the interviewer.

LV: What has been the most interesting part of your time as an editor?

AM: I have been lucky enough to meet a few of our translators one-on-one, connecting with them, sharing a beer. More generally, I love bringing work that is widely read and respected in other countries to an American audience, giving it the recognition it deserves.

LV: Now as a writer do you have a ritual for when you write?

AM: I do have one. So I take one of those Nature Valley granola bars—meaning one of the two bars—and eat it while writing and drinking coffee. I always leave a little coffee in the mug when I’m done writing for the day, and the next morning, I pour fresh coffee over the remaining coffee, to create continuity. I don’t wash the mug until I finish a story. But eventually the coffee puddle is chunked with aged granola. Which is gross, and probably why I write a lot of flash fiction.

LV: Where would your writing go if it grew legs?

AM: My writing would relocate to the storm drains, where stray cats live. I pass these strays quite often, when I go for a walk; the stray, those rusted storm drains, they’re a source of great inspiration.

LV: Which writer, past or present would you share a milkshake with?

AM: Not Hemingway. And maybe—but no. Not Kafka. He “Fletcherized” when he ate, meaning he’d chew each bite about 700 times. I wouldn’t have time for that. I think I would go with Robert Walser, a German modernist poet. I love how he sees the world. He would definitely appreciate the absurdity of two grown men sharing a milkshake. And afterward, I’m sure he’d insist we go for a walk. He was a notorious walker; in fact, one of Walser’s best stories—my personal favorite—is called “The Walk.”

LV: What was the first story you ever attempted to write?

AM: As a kid I wrote this comic book series called Undercovers. It was about a boy who was made miniature, for undisclosed reasons, who must navigate the world beneath his covers. He befriends a monster named in Lint. Lint looked nothing like lint. He resembled a stick figure with a Pac-man head. Lint was comic relief, there to make fart jokes. Really, Under Covers was about being a stranger in a strange land—and flatulence.

LV: So in the show How I Met Your Mother Ted Mosby has a particular stubborn idea that he can pull off wear red boots despite the naysayers. Now my question is do you have a pair of red boots metaphorically speaking?

AM: I think I’m a great singer, but I haven’t seriously sung in front of anyone since I was sixteen. Maybe I’m great—but most likely, I’m tone deaf.

LV: What gives you strength?

AM: Bench presses and squats.

LV: Let me rephrase that. What gives you strength as a writer?

AM: As a writer, I’m driven by some unhealthy obsession to prove myself through language. But it’s unclear why, or to whom, I need to prove myself.

LV: How is your kitten?

AM: Helen? She’s great, but she loves Allegra, my girlfriend, more than she loves me—Helen, to clarify, was my birthday present. The only one-on-one time Helen and I get is in the early morning, when she’s hungry, or in the afternoon before Allegra comes home.

LV: Where are you going after graduation? What’s next for you?

AM: Out of Tempe, out of Arizona.  I’m applying for fellowships. I might work on an island off the coast of New Hampshire. I might just go pick olives in Greece.

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Alex McElroy’s work appears in Indiana Review, Gulf Coast, Diagram, Passages North, Tin House, The Millions, and more work can be found here.

Behind the Masthead: Dorothy Chan

Only a few weeks until Issue 55 is released! Meanwhile, we are gearing up for our special themed issue: CHAOS. Lauren Mickey interviews our poetry editor, Dorothy Chan, about boy bands, Nylon, and our upcoming issue.

Lauren Mickey: What are you currently reading (besides submissions)? 

Dorothy Chan: I'm currently reading a bunch of fashion blogs: We Wore What, Sea of Shoes, Luxirare, etc. I like to keep up with current trends in fashion and lifestyle -- I truly believe this enhances my writing and gives me a different perspective besides the literary. On the literary side, however, I'm reading The Crucifix Blocks by Todd Fredson as well as the current issue of APR. 

LM: How has being a poetry editor at HFR changed the way you write / read?

DC: Being poetry editor for 2 years has enhanced the way I read. Besides the benefit of reading submissions with greater speed, I'm also reading much more meticulously. I'm trying to get to know the person behind the writer behind each poem. 

LM: What is your go-to play-on-repeat song?

DC: Oh wow, I have so many. And I promise you, I'm not one of those writers who names obscure bands just to sound cool. Let's see, right now I'm hooked on 5 Seconds of Summer, this adorable band that's labeled as a "boyband," though they strive to be more pop-punk. I like their song "She Looks So Perfect" because it keeps referencing "American Apparel Underwear." Interestingly, I'm also a big Sinatra fan--I fell in love with his voice in a taxicab in Hong Kong when I was four. I love his duet with Bing Crosby from the film, High Society. With that, I love songs from old MGM musicals. As far as a playlist: "Evil" by Interpol, "Live While We're Young" by One Direction, "Biggest Part of Me" by Ambrosia, "Forever Young" by Rod Stewart, "Eyes As Candles," by Passion Pit, and [fill in the blank with almost anything catchy]. 

LM: Issue 55 — the “Chaos” issue — is coming out soon… Were you surprised and/or impressed by how poets incorporated themes of chaos into their submissions? 

DC: I am very pleased with the Chaos collection Jackie and I are curating. At first, I was worried we'd get hundreds of Dada poems, but there's lots of standouts in this collection. I'm glad that many writers incorporated narrative with chaos.

LM: I read your previous “Behind the Masthead” interview and saw that you read Nylon. Do you have a favorite Nylon covergal? (Mine is Tavi Gevinson, I think, probably.) 

DC: I love Tavi! I saw this fabulous pink fur outfit she wore on a fashion blog the other day. My other favorite would have to be Sienna Miller for the anniversary issue. I also like Taylor Momsen's cover on a summer issue of Nylon Singapore.

LM: What is your ideal writing environment (coffee shop, a dark room, lost in the woods, etc.)? 

DC: My ideal environment is anywhere noisy...hopefully with enough attractive things or people to look at.

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Dorothy Chan is a 2014 finalist for the Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Fellowship. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Plume, Cha, Keyhole, and Vine Leaves. She is a poetry editor at Hayden's Ferry Review. 

Behind the Masthead: Heath Wilcock

And now, the highly anticipated interview with HFR’s Special Projects Editor, Heath Wilcock! Heath gave intern Lauren Mickey the inside scoop on exciting topics, such as: stand-up comedy, fame, breakfast fowl, the to-be-installed HFR steam room, etc.

Lauren Mickey: Okay, so, you are the "Special Projects Editor" at HFR. What does this mean? What sort of "special projects" are you working on (or do you plan to work on)? 

Heath Wilcock: Special Projects Editor means that I run HFR. I'm the person in charge. I arrive in the HFR den promptly at 5am and demand my morning breakfast, which consists of one whole roasted fowl. Other editors are rarely in the office at this hour, and the janitorial service do not understand how important I am, so I'm usually left to my own devices. In this case, my device is actually a briefcase where I keep an entire cooked fowl locked inside. After eating my roasted fowl, I'm oftentimes covered in grease and need to bathe. But before I head to the HFR steam room, I sit at my desk and contemplate my sins. 

Special projects I'm currently working on: 

· Brand new HFR website

· HFR agenda for coming AWP

· Putting in a new steam room

· Being there for others

· Convincing everyone that I'm in charge

LM: You handle HFR's social media, correct? What does this entail? How do you keep things interesting on those sites / platforms?

HW: Yes, Lauren Mickey, that is correct. [turns to camera, grins wide, holds it for a solid minute] I tweet at least once a day. I do have a hard time finding a universal voice for HFR. I've been trying to play with it a bit. With a magazine that's over 25 years old, it has established a sweater vest literary fineness, and then I come in and try to make that sweater vest entity say something that's probably garbage. To avoid this qualm, I end up tweeting pictures of myself with a certain facial expression that is a cross between satisfaction and mistrust. That gets more attention than say "10 Reasons Kafka Despised Fondue Parties."

LM: You do improv. Does this at all affect your fiction writing, your work at HFR, your teaching, etc?

HW: Yes. It has a profound effect on developing scenes, establishing relationships, defining character statuses, finding the funny, exploring themes, turning mistakes into revelations, and so on. However, with writing I do slow things down a bit more, try to make it more complex with the use of language. Improv needs to be experienced in a live setting, whereas stories are striving for that timeless quality. You'll never see the same improv show twice, but you'll always return to the same story that shifted your thinking. I'll also act out my stories in my room, playing the different characters. It helps me see how a character would react to a problem that is honest to his/her traits. If my wife's around, I'll have her improv with me. She's great at reacting honestly.

LM: What is most exciting to you, as a reader of submissions? Are you particularly drawn to humor in prose, or not necessarily?

HW: I get the most excited when I come across a piece that is a tight ten pages and it leaves me breathing hard, either from laughing, crying, or simply exhausted from pleasure. I enjoy humor in prose, but I don't necessarily seek it out. I crave stories. Whether it's scary, philosophical, absurd, or sad, I just want to be involved. I don't stick to one food at the family dinner table, I absolutely dish myself a portion of each. Except that one dish that has been on the dinner table for a couple of months, leaks a smelly substance, and uses bad language when guests come over. I don't care for that dish, or story. 

LM: You're kind of Vine famous... Would you like to comment on that? Like, how does it feel to be famous? (Also, does HFR have a Vine yet?)

HW: I have yet to receive my multiple butlers that are required to carry me while I drizzle the finest Beluga serum on my naked body. And until this happens, I'm not considered famous. Vine is a great platform to create small scenes or share a strange image. That's what I like using it for. I'm surprised and grateful that so many kind people follow me. HFR does have a Vine account. It only has one post for our flash fiction contest. Definitely need to do more with that. 

LM: What are you currently reading / watching / generally obsessed with? Are any writers overwhelming you with their brilliance, lately?

HW: I'm currently reading a wonderful collection of stories by Shawn Vestal called Godforsaken Idaho. Let's see, shows I'm watching. I think Key & Peele is a fantastic show; every episode is smart, smart, smart. They get me excited to explore new ideas. Also Nathan For You is incredible. I have to pause that show to catch my breath. I also enjoy Bob's Burgers, Venture Bros., and everything from Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim. Lately I've been watching a lot of documentaries, specifically Iraq and Afghanistan war documentaries. I'll watch them, get really upset, and then clean the house to cool down. I recently read Jeanette Winterson's Sexing the Cherry and she stimulated my senses, hard. I also just picked up Donald Antrim's short story collection The Emerald Light in the Air. Pretty excited to dig into that. His novel, Elect Mr. Robinson for a Better World, was the most twisted, funny, and surreal book I've ever read and I couldn't get enough. Other obsession is Steve Martin. Will always be Steve Martin.

LM: Do you ever perform stand-up comedy sets for your students, or is that frowned upon? 

HW: I perform stand-up for my students and they sit there and frown. Then I have them circle around me and chant, "you're doing your best," while I openly weep. 

LM: What is the most magical thing about working at HFR? 

HW: The steam room, once I get that installed. 

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Heath Wilcock is an MFA candidate at Arizona State University and currently serves as the Special Projects Editor for Hayden's Ferry Review. He lives in Tempe with his wife and four-year-old daughter.

Behind the Masthead: Chelsea Hickok, Managing Editor

Our inscrutable Managing Editor Chelsea Hickok has given us a look into her position at HFR and a few tidbits about herself as well. In this interview we will get a look at what it takes to assemble a body of work into a gleaming literary journal.

Leslie Verdugo: Chelsea, can you tell me about your responsibilities as managing editor for HFR?

Chelsea Hickok: I take care of the more logistical part of the journal. I’m the one who gets in contact with the contributors to send them publication agreements and to get their bios. I also construct the master list and go through print bids to get the journal made.

LV: You really have your hands in the journal’s creation. How long have you been with the magazine now?

CH: Since last fall, and I only did second reads then. I then filled out an application for my current position, answered a few essay questions, and here I am.

LV: Did you have experience for your current position?

CH: I mostly learned as I went along.

LV: Nice. So when you were a reader for the journal did you have a certain pet peeve or something you looked out for in a story?

CH: I tended to avoid content based on the college perspective because we all have a pretty good idea of what college is like. Also there seemed to be a lot of cancer stories during my time, which I found hard to get into beyond just knowing the author wanted me to be sad.

LV: Right, there was more focus on the fact that they are victims rather than humans.

CH: Yeah, exactly.

LV: What year are you in now, Chelsea?

CH: I am now in my second year as a graduate student in the MFA fiction program.

LV: Is there anything you are focused on in your writing right now?

CH: I’m exploring the idea of food as it relates to the human experience. Right now I’m working on a story of a man in search of pelican meat.

LV: Wow, that’s an awesome topic to focus on, and the story sounds like it’s going to be an interesting read. Do you plan on staying with HFR?

CH: Yes, I do. I plan on applying for Editor next semester, and with the new staff we are planning on reimagining the journal.

LV: That’s pretty exciting! Speaking of exciting did you do anything fun this summer?

CH: I went on a road trip to Seattle with my man and a puppy named Wally short for Walter Pepercorn Peanut.  We also call him Walnut.

LV: That’s adorable. I have also been meaning to ask, what is the tattoo on your shoulder of? I can never get a good look at it.

CH: It’s the 1978 cover art for Virginia Woolf’s novel To the Lighthouse. It’s a book a come back to year after year, always taking away something new and illuminating about the human condition.

LV: I see, well thank you for your time and for the insight Chelsea!

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Chelsea Hickok is working towards her MFA in Fiction Writing at ASU.  She is currently the Managing Editor of Hayden's Ferry Review.