Eileen Nittler
ORP: What inspired you to begin writing or creating? Has that source of inspiration changed throughout your life?
Eileen Nittler: I can't remember ever not writing. Most of what I do is an expression of feeling, or a jotting down of the strange ideas that flit through my mind. I find great peace (and exasperation and frustration and joy) in putting words together.
ORP: Does writing or creating energize or exhaust you? What aspects of your artistic process would you consider the most challenging or rewarding?
EN: Both, of course. Generally, it is an uplifting exercise and feels freeing. I admit I love when my work is validating by the approval of others, but the most rewarding part is looking over things I wrote days or years later and still connecting to the words and their emotions.
ORP: Do you know more than one language? How does this influence your art and/or writing?
EN: Si, hablo español y ich kann gut Deutsch. I find myself wanting to slip words and concepts from other languages/cultures into what I write. This isn't great. A pun that works in German does not necessarily translate the way I'd like.
ORP: What does vulnerability mean to you as an artist and/or writer?
EN: Humans tend to avoid feeling vulnerable. Putting down on paper those ideas that are most "you" or that you worry aren't socially acceptable is terrifying. Extending one's thoughts and work into a public sphere requires courage to get past that. I'm not there yet, but am working on it.
