Meet Sebastian Anderson - dipity Community Spotlight Q&A Interview no. 25
learn more about writer Sebastian Anderson's work through dipity's global interview monthly spotlight feature
Introduction
Sebastian Anderson (he/him) is a poet and fiction writer from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, who writes out snippets from an imperfect human experience. His work primarily focuses on transgender and queer stories, themes of mental health, and his experience growing up in a world that always seemed ready to implode. He has previously been published in New Words Press issue #5, is currently working on a debut novel, and is an undergraduate student at Northeastern University.
Hi-C
you’re taking shots. I smell peaches on the whistling as you give carbon dioxide back to the earth with each sharp inhale, the divine exchange in each slow discard of untaken things; you’re taking mine. the fingers attached by bones and tendons to an arm I’m certain still belongs to me (will it still? if you’re holding on) with the sidewalk crumbling edge of your wrist; you’re taking shots. I’m bearing sober witness as your pigment oscillates within the air. lineless, shapeless you— some boy I knew— but even now like muted glasspaint, in the dark those dilated pupils meet mine. can you see me? are you in there? in the black?
Goody Grace - Two Shots
Q: What is the backstory of this poem?
I wrote this poem from the dark corner of an unrequited love in which I felt the person I had gotten to know and fallen for terribly was suddenly entirely unreachable. They were drunk. Maybe it made them braver, I don’t know, but I felt like the authentic individual I had previously met was finally there. I can vividly remember the light the lamp cast and the way I wondered why it’d take drinking for me to be a person worth showing your insides to. “Hi-C” is about that; about a brief intimacy spent sitting next to one another that only one of you will remember, about wondering why you held my hand and if it meant half as much to you as it did to me, about how many shots it takes before the action of getting to know me becomes palatable. If you have ever felt hard to love, this poem is for you. If you have ever felt like being loved would make you disappear into the other person, this poem is for you.
Q: What were your most recent publications?
My most recent and only publication was my poem “Taraxacum” in New Words Press issue #5.
Q: Where can others find more of your work?
While I have been writing for as long as I can remember, I only have one published work [prior to this per the above]. You can also find all of my publications as they happen on my Instagram account @sja.nderson.
Q: What else do you do outside of the writing community? Are there any hobbies you’d like to share?
Outside of writing poetry, I am currently working on a fiction novel. I am an undergraduate student as well, which keeps me busy. I enjoy making music, art, spending time with people I care about, wandering outside, cooking, baking, and occasionally ice skating.
Q: When did you begin writing? OR What or who sparked and inspired your writing journey?
I think that I have always been writing. I wrote comic books and short stories as a kid. I’d walk in circles around the coffee table, mutter little anthologies to myself, and seldom write them down. As I got older, I started to write them down, [got] distracted [by] planning novellas during class, posting poetry on random websites under pen names. I love to write, and sometimes it feels like it is the only thing that has felt real to me. Through the action of writing, I can escape the dark hollow pit which is me, my interior. But it’s less so a method of escapism and more so the inverse. Like I could write myself into my own body and mind.
Q: What advice would you give aspiring poets, authors, or fellow writers in the community?
I am an aspiring poet/author/etc., so any advice I’d give here is only that which I’d give to myself. But here it is anyways:
Take care of yourself.
Write a lot even if you’re terrified.
Submit a lot and get abysmally rejected.
Get some sleep.
Always write down the ideas you have at night.
Q: What are you currently reading? AND What book(s) would you recommend to others right now?
I am, at this very moment, in the midst of reading Jane Eyre for the first time. However, in regards to recommending books, I would recommend any poetry collection written by Mary Oliver.
Q: What was the last movie or TV show you watched or recommend others see in the community?
My favorite TV show is Bojack Horseman. I also highly recommend Jane Schoenbrun’s film I Saw The TV Glow (2024). Both are phenomenal pieces of media in my opinion.
Q: Which poets, artists, or writers inspire you?
Some of my favorite poets are Mary Oliver, Matthea Harvey, and Cameron Awkward-Rich. I am inspired in a great deal of my writing by the young adult fiction works of John Green. I also enjoy Murakami.
Q: If you could get a lifetime supply of any snack or one food dish in the world, what would it be? Why?
Mangoes. They’re a perfect fruit in my opinion. I am not a particularly religious individual but mangoes simply have to have been a divine creation because there is simply no way that such a fruit exists by accident. They’re wonderful.
Q: What's one of your favorite poems in existence?
One of my absolute favorite poems is “In Defense Of Our Overgrown Garden” by Matthea Harvey.
Milk & Bone - Peaches
To Check Out More of Sebastian Anderson’s Work
Circle back to some of his work mentioned above in this Q&A and check out his Instagram.
Please Def Follow:
@sja.nderson
on Instagram
Any other thoughts, comments, or shares after reading the interview?
[Interview Processed By VFORROW]
Thank you so much, Sebastian Anderson, for sharing and submitting to Dipity Lit Mag! ~ Jazz Marie Kaur (Vevna Forrow).
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