Candice Kelsey

I'm Candice Kelsey, and I am a Cincinnati native who spent the past 30 years in Los Angeles, California. I currently live in Augusta, Georgia, with my husband, three teenagers, five cats, a dog, and a snake. I'm mildly obsessed with solving the Hunt a Killer games when I'm not advocating for animal rights.

Question 1: What inspired you to start writing?

I'm an observer. I watch and think. I also read voraciously. But language -- words -- consume my thoughts more than story. I've always been drawn to etymology, linguistics, the plasticity of meanings. Crafting a piece of writing is like running around the world's biggest and best playground for me.

Question 2: How have your past experiences influenced you as a writer?

Inhabiting a female body affords a neverending supply of experiences. I pull from the fat phobic messages I heard as a young person. I pull from the fears cis men have projected upon my manner of dress. I pull from the primitive ideas religion has thrust upon how I vote. And I pull from the ways other women in my life have been shaped by similar experiences.

Question 3: What have you written that you're the most proud of?

Recently I traveled to my father's funeral. I wrote this poem about my experience: "No Sharp Edges"

Question 4: What do the words “writer’s block” mean to you?

This phrase is empowering. I focus on the first word -- writer. Considering myself a writer has been a long process and one I value tremendously. If feeling unable to write for a short time is the tax I have to pay in order to write most of the time, I'm in!

Question 5: When did you first call yourself a writer?

It was easy to call myself a writer. To be called something doesn't mean you are that thing. There's a reason why Melville's opening line of Moby-Dick is so memorable. For me, the moment I acknowledged being a writer is the most significant. Once I realized the first wave of published pieces was not a fluke and that my creative output would not simply stop, I realized I am a writer.

Question 6: What is your writing process like? Are you more of a plotter or a pantser?

I'm a hybrid -- a plontser, I suppose! How I craft a poem varies with each one. Sometimes I spend days or even weeks thinking about an image, a turn of phrase, or a concept. Sometimes I look out the window and know exactly what to write. Sometimes I take a poem from five years ago, one that never really became what it wanted to become, and help it emerge. The one constant is that my process includes an undeniable urge to form the poem.

Question 7: If you could spend a day with another popular author, whom would you choose?

Linda Pastan without question.

Question 8: What is your kryptonite as a writer?

When I have too many moving parts or dueling ideas, I shut down. I have to be able to focus and not allow my mind to tendril away from the poem at hand.

Question 9: Do you play music while you write — and, if so, what’s your favorite?

Anything Puccini!

Question 10: What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing?

Never ignore an idea. Write it down immediately or it will disappear.