A Literary Interview with Dramatist and Poet T.K. Lee

If you could cook dinner for any author, dead or alive, who would it be? What would you make?
Tennessee Williams keeps coming to mind. I mean, it’s an impossible question as there are so many I’d love to do this for. And of course, I’d make an entire buffet of dishes and drinks pulled from his own plays: Hoppin’ John, strawberry daiquiris, etc. It’d be quite the menu.


What scares you the most about the writing process? How do you combat your fears?
Revising. As Dorothy Parker once said, “I hate writing. I love having written.” It’s tough to re-ignite that moment on initial inspiration, but, obvious as this next statement may be, I do find that the longer I sit with a piece, the more nooks and crannies I uncover and that in and of itself is a Truth I tell myself over and over to combat those fears. Of course, it also creates a new set of problems: When to Stop, etc.


What books are on your nightstand?
Currently: A Wrinkle in Time; Out of Oz, A Confederacy of Dunces, Twelve Caesars, The Woman Warrior, and Dragon Country.


Where do you get your ideas? What inspires you?
Wal-Mart. Kroger. Church. Thanksgiving. A niece’s birthday. Wherever my ear goes, ideas follow.




Favorite punctuation mark? Why?
I find myself a bit obsessed with the long dash. If I find out why that is, I’ll let you know.


What book were you supposed to read in high school, but never did?
I read every book, even the ones I hated. Even Silas Marner.


What inanimate object would you thank in your acknowledgements?
Post-it notes.


Why do you write? The first 5 words that come to mind. Go.
To learn how to forgive.​

T.K. LEE is an award-winning member of the Dramatists Guild of America and the Society for Stage Directors and Choreographers, among others. A published writer of Pushcart-nominated fiction, in addition to award-winning poetry, he is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor in the MFA program at the Mississippi University for Women, in historic Columbus, Mississippi, birthplace of Tennessee Williams.

---