Definitions, paths, and impressions from Arts Calling Podcast interviews

One of my recent guests on the podcast was the phenomenal Effy Redman. I’ve been thinking about our conversation ever since, and thought it would be fun to mess with the chronological order of these posts by alternating between early and recent episodes. So here we are.

Effy’s story is one of remarkable grit, expression, and discovery of the self. She is a memoirist, essayist, editor, and disability advocate. Her writing investigates the intersection of disability and identity. Drawing from her journey as a lesbian with Moebius Syndrome (a rare condition of facial paralysis), she writes into the experience of otherness, finding resilience beyond the shadows.

Effy’s memoir, Saving Face, is a remarkable distillation of otherness through her perspective as a Queer immigrant with mental health and facial differences. Throughout her life, she worked incredibly hard to reconcile her fragmented identities into a more holistic, truer self. And it was an absolute pleasure to learn from her about identity, patience, and the memoir form.

Effy said many things that resonated with me, here’s a few of them:

• Her memoir began as a writing exercise, free of risk or writerly self-importance. From her description, it almost struck me as a private act of expression and understanding oneself, even before talk of a memoir came about. This writing exercise grew into an extensive exploratory process, which led her over time, to revise her manuscript 20 times over. Memoir may require time, distance, and constant exploration in order to burrow deep into the self. In Effy’s case, the earlier exploratory drafts were merely the gateway to discovering the shape of her own story. She needed distance from those seminal events to process herself. But she was far from done at that point. Saving Face took years of patience to achieve, without taking into account the hellish querying process that lay ahead. Moving forward, I’d like to explore my own story patiently and honestly, without expectation or deadline.
• The benefits of an intensive physical practice. Effy’s dual undergrad studies in literature and dance offered her balance. While the written word empowered Effy as a communicator, the avant-garde nature of her dance education allowed her to feel a complete sense of voice and ownership. “That intensive physical practice, focus, and connection to music changed my life in a positive way.” Alongside the intellectual rigors of writing, engaging one’s body in expressive movement, physical activity, and meaningful exertion can only yield positivity and balance to a human being. I forget this often.
• People. Family, chosen or otherwise. Community! Writing can be the loneliest of endeavors, but it doesn’t have to be. Effy credits her community for a lot of her growth, progress, and self-acceptance. Like her journalism mentor who ‘opened up her world’ at a formative time in her life, or the writing groups that helped her shepherd her memoir into being. Or simply staying open to maintaining or creating strong bonds of kinship. A lone wolf writer can certainly get writing done, but in reality, wolf packs in the wild have shown to be more like families. This is vital not just for your craft, but for quality of life.

What is a life well-lived?

One last favor: Please check out Effy’s memoir, Saving Face, now available from Vine Leaves Press! Her writing is an affirmation for anyone who’s ever felt like they didn’t belong. Check it out!

*Special thanks to friend of the show Catherine Filloux for making this conversation possible!