Carlie Blume
Picture of my writing desk in the office I share with my husband.
What do you feel is your best piece of work?
One of my earlier poems ‘Boxing Day’ (a poem about childhood sexual abuse found in my debut collection, ‘Gigglepuss’). That poem was one of the most challenging things I ever attempted to write. It was initially an essay that just kept meandering out of control but after enough revisions I was finally able to render it down into something that made sense visually and emotionally.
What music have you been listening to lately?
I’ve been enjoying this neo-psychedelia/lo-fi album by The Sweet Enoughs called Marshmallow (great writing music), as well as Asha Puthli’s greatest hits on vinyl. And now that it’s fall I will be returning to Chet Baker.
What’s in your fridge right now?
It was just my birthday so a lot of leftover wilted charcuterie.
Who is the last character you related to and why?
I just finished the book (and movie) of Elena Ferrante’s Lost Daughter and I found the main character Leda’s surliness and melancholy so brutally relatable it was almost hard to read and watch at moments. Anytime I come across a character that is so unabashedly fucked up by the pressures of motherhood and career I crumple in relief and validation.
Have you ever failed at something you care about?
I am constantly failing in small, irritating ways at many things I care about. But failure is fleeting and there’s always a chance to renew. Like many, I am in a constant cycle of failure, retrieval and then redemption.
Last gift you received?
A pair of black rubber garden clogs with tulips on them from my friend Jennie for my birthday.
Favourite photo?
Any photo where I have caught someone off guard in a state of joy or contemplation. Or unexpected photos where a wild animal suddenly appears out of nowhere.
Picture of a lamp (one bulb is broken) given to me by a friend and a strip of pictures of me and a different friend.
Best season?
My son asked me this today actually. Not an easy question. It used to be fall but now that I live on an island close to the beach I find myself attracted to summer in a way I have never been before.
Least favourite household chore?
Washing dishes, weed wacking (grass allergy) or planning dinner.
Best outfit?
A few years ago I wore this two-piece navy suit I found in a thrift store to a reading and I specifically remember feeling like the embodiment of the 80’s power woman I always wanted to be as a kid.
Do you like to write in the morning or at night?
I feel more inspired at night but I have more mental dexterity during the day.
When did you first receive praise for your writing?
When I was in grade five we had to write a story or a poem as an assignment for remembrance day so I wrote a poem about the experience of World War II through the eyes of a little girl and shortly after handing it in to my teacher she asked me to read it in front of the school at our remembrance day assembly.
What do you consider to be your first rejection?
When I first started seriously writing poetry ten years ago I sent my work to the Fiddlehead and received a handwritten rejection note from the poetry editor. In looping cursive, he wrote that the poems veered into “the dubious territory of being too sentimental”. He wasn’t wrong and to this day I am grateful he took the time to do that for me. It still definitely stung when I first read it though.
Favourite book ever?
Pretty much anything by bell hooks, I Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata and Blood Dazzler by Patricia Smith.
Anything you’d like to promote?
My debut poetry collection Gigglepuss can be purchased online or at a local bookstore near you:
https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/gigglepuss/9781771837002-item.html
Carlie Blume was born on the unceded and ancestral lands of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh (Vancouver). She is a 2017 graduate of Simon Fraser University’s The Writer’s Studio. Her work has appeared in The Maynard, Train: a poetry journal, Ghost City Review and more. She is also the author of her debut collection of poetry, Gigglepuss (2022) and currently lives on the traditional territory of the Saanich, Cowichan and Chemanius First Nations (Salt Spring Island, B.C) with her husband and two children.
