Judith Barrington
Judith Barrington has published three collection of poems, most recently Horses and the Human Soul (Story Line Press, 2004). In 2000, Lifesaving: A Memoir (Consortium Books, 2000), received the Lambda Literary Award and was a finalist for the PEN/Martha Albrand Award for the Art of the Memoir. Her text, Writing the Memoir: From Truth to Art (Eighth Mountain Press, 1997; second edition, 2002), is used widely in creative writing programs around the country. Barrington’s poetry and prose has appeared in numerous periodicals, including The Sonora Review, The American Voice, The Women's Review of Books, Northwest Review, and Poetry London, as well as in the anthologies An Exaltation of Forms (University of Michigan Press, 2002) and The Stories that Shape Us (W. W. Norton & Company, 1995). Her poem, "Crows," was recently featured by Garrison Keillor on National Public Radio's "The Writer's Almanac." Barrington is the recipient of the Freedom of Expression Award from Oregon's A.C.L.U., the Andres Berger Award for Creative Nonfiction, and the Stewart H. Holbrook Award for outstanding contributions to Oregon's literary life. In 2003, she was among the winners of the prestigious Bridport Prize (U.K.), and won The Clackamas Review and Looking Glass Poetry Contests. Barrington has taught at workshops and conferences across the U.S. and Great Britain. She was co-director of The Flight of the Mind for 18 years and is now president of The Soapstone Women Writers' Retreat.You can find more information about Judith Barrington at www.judithbarrington.com.

How and why did you become a writer?
I always liked to write and was good at it in school. But I didn't think of myself as a writer, even though in my teens and early twenties I wrote poetry and occasional essays. When I became involved in feminist political activism in the 1970s, I joined a women writers' group where, for the first time, I met others who were serious about writing. We published a chapbook of our poems and met regularly. After that, I became a freelance writer of nonfiction articles which I syndicated to the op ed pages of newspapers around the U.S. As a creative writer I published two volumes of poetry, each of which contained a short memoir, and then became very interested in literary memoir as a short and long form. I taught creative nonfiction for several years before realizing that there was no book that explained the memoir as I had come to understand it. So I wrote Writing the Memoir: From Truth to Art, which has sold very well and was recently revised and updated. My own book-length memoir, Lifesaving, came out in 2000. I have recently published my third poetry book and returned, for the time being, to writing my first love--poetry. I think I became a writer because I have a strong urge to communicate and because I'm happier when I'm writing than when I'm not.

In which literary forms do you most often work?
I work in both poetry and memoir or personal essay. I have very rarely written fiction. I have two completed poetry books waiting to come out and am at work on a second book-length memoir.

Who are some of your favorite writers?
Adrienne Rich, A.S. Byatt, Patricia Hampl, Sappho, Willa Cather, Michael Ondaatje, Maxine Kumin, Galway Kinnell, Margaret Atwood, Rita Dove, Joy Harjo, Lucille Clifton, William Stafford, Mimi Khalvati.

How would you define a successful work of literature?
I think this depends on whether you mean successful for the writer or for the reader? I think a writer achieves success when she or he realizes a work to the very best of his or her ability at the time. For the reader this may not be enough. As a reader I define a successful work as one which delights me in one of many ways: sometimes the structure and use of language can be enough to make me smile, no matter what the subject; at other times the success is achieved by a perfect piece of storytelling in which the plot (whether fictional or taken from life) unfolds at the perfect pace and in the perfect shape. Most works that I consider successful I want to return to later and read again.

What are the most rewarding parts of the writing process for you? What are the most difficult?
Since I'm slow to get immersed in my writing, the most rewarding part is when I finally have enough space to sink deep into the creation of something to the extent that I don't notice the passing of time. I also find revision quite rewarding. The most difficult part is getting started. I'm a delayer.

In which parts of the world have you lived?
I live now in Oregon and have been a U.S. citizen for some 15 years. I grew up in England-Brighton on the coast south of London. From 1963 to 1965, I lived in Spain, north of Barcelona. After that I lived in London until I came to the U.S. in 1976. I would be capable of working with someone who uses a fair amount of Spanish in their work, but probably not with a work completely in that language. I can also handle French.

Which literary forms do you prefer to work on with clients?
Memoir and poetry.

How much and what kinds of background or experience would you expect your clients to have?
I would expect a good command of language so that I'm not spending a lot of time on sentences and punctuation. Also I would expect the clients to be willing and excited readers, and to have read several books in the genre they are working in.

Do you have some ground rules that you would expect clients to follow?
I think mine would be mainly that they adhere to the structure laid down by the program. That they not pressure me to put in extra readings and certainly that they not expect to meet me or to have a personal relationship. With memoir writing, students sometimes think that I am there to discuss their life with them. They would need to understand that I'm there to discuss their writing.

What advice would you offer prospective clients as they consider choosing a mentor?
Read the mentor's books. If possible, ask someone who has taken a class with them how it was. Look them up on the Web.