Let your voice do the talking and walking

Something to say? Does the word you keep saying over again become a sound and lose its meaning? That happens a lot to me. What's that called, you ask? Semantic satiation is the word you're looking for. Aching Beauty. The book would've been more ache than beauty with words that didn't fit quite right, and unclear metaphors. Making you want to ditch the book and turn the other way as if you never laid eyes on it in the first place. Katharine Beaton came to rescue you and me from that pain ever displaying. Without her discerning eye, the book would have been dull not glowing with the exact expression of words, structure and putting punctuation in just the right place, to slow your pace and get moving again.  

Katharine and I have never met in person, but I fell head over heals for her on our first email chat. For this brief interview, here's is what I found out. Her ideal relationship is both lovely and strange, creativity is as vital as water or sleep, and she loves to sing Bob Dylan tunes in or out of the shower. Oh, and likes to cuddle. But with whom?

What habit do you wake up to that you can't live without?
A cup of coffee, a cigarette, and some fresh air outside. I am as good as still asleep without these three. 

What does creativity mean to you?
Creativity is a release of thought and emotion and it is as vital as water or sleep. It is what helps us to find meaning in the ordinary and also in the painful. It is the avenue to beauty.  

Any new creative projects that you’re working on?
As an editor, I always keep my clients’ work confidential, but there are two projects that come to mind, and I know these writers won’t mind my compliments here. One is about to embark on the long traditional publishing journey. David Ozersky’s Colour and Poison is a remarkable debut collection from a poet I deeply admire. Sal Godoïj’s The Shoplifter can soon be purchased on Amazon. It is a tragic dark beauty of a novel that I fell in love with and I think readers will too. 

Your current favourite tune?
My current feel-good song is Sonate Pacifique by L’Impératrice and Isaac Delusion. It takes me back to a dreamy beachside memory of Mexico. 

What's that tune you're singing in the shower?
In or out of the shower, I love to sing Bob Dylan, especially “Mississippi”, “Desolation Row” and “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue”.

Magazine of choice? Book?
If I must choose just one, Dostoevsky’s Notes from Underground. His neuroticism is so satisfying to me; I feel a kinship with him. 

A favourite film?
The Shape of Water. My ideal romance is both lovely and strange. 

A dish you just can't get enough of?
Any soup from the ReFresh cookbook. I find homemade soup to be so rejuvenating, and the Fresh restaurants have some amazing recipes. 

When's the last time you wrote a love letter? Or a song? 
Some of my poetry is like a love letter. It’s been a couple months, I think. C’est la vie, my artistic process is a landscape of peaks and valleys. 

What's your favourite thing to do before you call it a night?
Cuddle my wife.

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