www

www.philipquinn.ca

"Writer "

Matthew Firth

1) Why do you write

I’ve given this lots of thought and I’ve come up with this: I write because it’s the only way I get heard. Not to get all Freudian but as a kid I was constantly told to be quiet and listen, to not speak until spoken to and all of that crap. I was one of four kids. No one seemed all that interested in what I had to say, even when I was able to get a few words in. All of this helped to silence me for a long time, in some sense. Now DON’T go feeling sorry for me or any of this shit. I’m 43. A lot of people my age lived through this and much worse. But it helped to drive me further inside myself, into having conversations inside my own head. Add to that that I am naturally inclined to internalize my thoughts, chew on them, and toss them about inside my headspace, and it all helped me become a writer. Because at some point, I wanted to get these words, narratives, conversations, etc. outside of my head. Not being encouraged to speak verbally, I was not great (and still am not great) at that route of expression. But I still like words. So I wrote them down. And I wrote them down with a certain vengeance, verve and perhaps violence, to compensate for all the imposed quiet time. That and I hate flowery words that mean nothing. I like concrete words that kick straight to the genitals. So I write that way. It gives me pleasure to write, to finally express myself.

2) Whom do you write for (your sense of an audience or do you write just to please yourself)

I write for both. See the first answer as to why I write for myself and how I write for myself. I write for an audience in the sense that I think I can give them stories they might want to hear, though I don’t go about this in a contrived way – thinking that this or that story will ring true with an audience. I write for an audience because I know that writing (and story-telling) is a social engagement. My stories have no meaning, no purpose, really don’t exist without an audience and all of my stories come from a social place, a place of human interaction, are drawn from the social. The give and take between a writer and his/her audience is part of this social exchange.

3) Major influences

Breakfast. Coffee. Beer. Bukowski, Hubert Selby, Carver, Dan Fante, Daniel Jones, Henry Miller. The Clash, Sex Pistols, Gogol Bordello, Nick Cave, Tom Waits. My wife, Andrea. Pornography. Sex. Jobs. Public transit. My neighbours. Other people. My kids. Hockey and lacrosse. Sleep. The weather. Time of year, time of day.

4) Whom do you like (actually enjoy) reading?

Bukowski, Selby, Dan Fante, Chris Walter, Tony O’Neill, Daniel Jones, Henry Miller, William S. Burroughs, Alexander Trocchi, Stewart Home, Peter Plate, Raymond Carver, Mark McCawley, Mark SaFranko, John Fante, Laura Hird, Tony O’Neill, Michel Houellebecq, Len Gasparini, Hemingway, David Rose.

5) And from job interviews: What are your strengths as a writer and what are your weaknesses if any?

Strength: honesty. Weakness: leave too many pieces of writing unfinished.

6) Best ever piece of writing you've ever done and why it's the best.

Honestly can’t say. A lot of writers like to think they’re constantly getting better, that their most recent stuff is the best. I don’t think so – I read a story I wrote about 12 years ago recently to a group of students and was surprised that it is still a fine piece of work. You can never tell what’s the best. Let readers decide.

7) Yes, and most importantly, a sample of your writing.

Here’s a copy of my story “Suburban Pornography”, from the book (Anvil Press, 2006) of the same name. I offer this because it’s a funny story and because I’m hoping three people will read this and then go and buy the book.

Suburban Pornography