Donna Cameron
Oyster River Pages: What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?
Donna Cameron: In one sense, all my travels are literary pilgrimages. I always choose carefully which books I will bring on a trip and often remember my travels by what books I was reading on that trip. But, many years ago, I did take a true literary pilgrimage to the Soviet Union, and it almost ended badly. I was part of a cultural exchange tour to what was then Leningrad (now once again St. Petersburg). Having majored in Russian literature, I idolized Fyodor Dostoevsky and was determined to visit his grave. At that time, though, the churchyard where he is buried was not open to foreigners. Despite many pleas, our guide/handler was adamant that we could not go there. To make a (very) long story short, three of us bribed our bus driver to take us there and, once there, we entered as if we were locals and I got to visit the grave of my hero. As required, our bus driver reported us to the authorities and we later learned that the KGB had opened files on each of us, under the heading “Foreign Deviants.” It may be one of my proudest moments.
ORP: How does your own writing or art surprise you?
DC: I think surprise is one of the reasons I write. When I am “in the flow,” words and ideas come quickly and often from someplace I can’t identify. When I go back and read what I’ve written, I’m often startled by the way I’ve expressed a thought or even by the thought itself. And sometimes words come together in ways that both surprise and delight me. Of course, those flow intervals aren’t always easy to find or sustain, but that’s part of the allure of writing, too.
ORP: What is your favorite piece that you have written or created?
DC: I wrote a piece for Talking Writing (http://talkingwriting.com/come-jesus-meeting) a few years ago that explored a bewildering late-night conversation I had in an airport with a Christian Fundamentalist and a Muslim. Writing about it was very eye-opening for me, and therapeutic, too. One of my favorite pieces is a humorous flash essay about sex, books, and foot fetishes. I still haven’t found it a home (I know, hard to believe!), but I’ll keep trying.
ORP: What do you see as the greatest obstacle or challenge to your personal creativity? How do you work to overcome it?
DC: Staying focused is sometimes a challenge for me. Either I feel like I have no good ideas or I have so many I can’t stay centered on one. I am also easily distracted, so I try to set boundaries on checking my email (maybe there will be an acceptance from Oyster River Pages…) or viewing social media. I deliberately do not have social platforms like Facebook and Twitter on my phone so I won’t be tempted to mindlessly scroll them when I’m out and about. I would much rather observe the world and interact with people. I find that the less time I spend online, the more focused and engaged I am.
ORP: What is the artist’s/writer’s greatest asset?
DC: Thick skin, a comfortable chair, supportive friends and family, and insatiable curiosity.
