An Author Q&A with Poet Anuja Ghimire

​If you could cook dinner for any author, dead or alive, who would it be? What would you make?  

I would choose Parijaat, a Nepali author (Blue Mimosa). I would make aloo paratha (potato stuffed roti).

What scares you the most about the writing process? How do you combat your fears?
Not saying something important in an original, crystal clear way. I also feel like anytime I am not writing, I am thinking about writing again while being scared of the process at the same time. I read good poems, edit my poems that have been rejected, and most often, I look for submission calls and one theme or another triggers me to write. 

Who is your biggest literary crush, author or character? 
Currently, Francie Nolan of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is my most favorite character. Her flaws, strength, ordinariness and endurance moves me.

What books are on your nightstand? 
Rainer Maria Rilke’s “Letters to a Young Poet” and  Layli Long Soldier’s “Whereas” 

Where do you get your ideas? What inspires you?
I think the sources of inspiration keep changing yet remaining the same for me. Politics, life events, (after motherhood) big questions about raising children, and some signs from the universe give me ideas for poems. Sometimes, it is as clear as a conversation with a neighbor about her recently deceased mother, a mute man in the grocery store begging for cash, or a news headline about a pedophile abusing children in Nepal. Listening to the universe inspires me.

Favorite punctuation mark? Why?  
I like commas because they can link the unexpected together sometimes. 

What book were you supposed to read in high school, but never did? 
I don’t have one. But, I was told everyone cries upon reading this lyric book Gauri and my tears didn’t come.

What inanimate object would you thank in your acknowledgements? 
My Macbook. My husband gave it to me as a gift after our second child was born. I have composed, edited, and submitted most of my poems while having it on my lap. My corner in the couch where I sit with my Mac are definitely on my acknowledgement list.

Why do you write? The first 5 words that come to mind. Go. 
To feel and record life

If you could write an inspirational quote on the mirrors of aspiring writers, what would you write? 
The way you remember the world matters.

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KATHMANDU is available for preorder on August 1, 2020 and releases on September 8, 2020. Copies are available directly through the publisher or wherever books are sold. An ebook is available directly from Amazon.

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