Ask the Author: Carolyn Kegel
[Roxane Gay / February 6th, 2010 / Interviews ]Carolyn Kegel graces the January issue with Anna in the Free Floating World and today talks with J. Bradley about a Transformers/Catcher in the Rye crossover, getting lost, and the proper soundtrack for her lovely story.
1. Would “Anna In The Free-Floating World” still have its haunting effect if you rewrote certain passages in an active voice? Â Does the passive voice of the narrator contribute to the tone of the story?
I wrote this story to gain some perspective on Anna.  She’s a character from another, much longer story I’ve been struggling with for a long time.  I wanted to try telling the story as objectively as I could — not to take Anna’s side, just to relay the facts.  So there’s a big range in the narrator’s perspective — here’s what’s happening here, and here’s what Anna is thinking, but I don’t think the voice is passive.  Passive requires a form of “to be” and a past participle of another verb.  For example, “the road was crossed by the chicken”Â.  Hope this answers your question.  It just seemed like the way to do it at the time.
2. If Anna’s car was actually a Transformer, describe what it would look like in its robot configuration. Â What role would it play in the all Transformers version of The Catcher In The Rye?
I remember reading The Catcher in the Rye and actually stepping away from the book after coming to a sentence.  Holden is in his dorm room pretending to read Out of Africa, while pretending to ignore his neighbor, Ackley.  Ackley is working very hard to engage Holden, while not wanting to appear too interested.  Duplicity abounds.  Holden’s even already read the book, he’s doing it for a second time.  Anyway, Ackley finally asks, “What the hellya reading?”  There’s been a lot of build up to this, pages of talking about lies, how incredibly illiterate Holden is, while he’s already read Thomas Hardy, Ring Lardner and Somerset Maugham.  He goes on about how much he likes Isak Dinesen and how he wouldn’t mind calling this Isak Dinesen up.  But all he says to Ackley is, “Goddamn book.”   I stopped when I read that because I thought, this is Salinger talking, not Holden.  Everything in here is intentional.  So, the greater irony is the reader, reading Salinger’s book.  He’s implicating the reader, saying, if you say you don’t like my book, this is what it looks like.  I really wish you’d asked me this question a couple of weeks ago when we could have called him up and asked if that’s what he meant–.so we’ll have to go with my answer–as to your question:  “Goddamn car.”Â
3. What animal would you be in a storybook?
As much as I’d like to fly, I think I’d prefer the life of a well-fed housecat.
4. Where do you like getting lost?
Getting lost really has no appeal, though I do like to travel to new places. Â And I’m not picky. Â I like small towns, big cities, foreign countries, beaches, parks. Â Even the mall in New Jersey is a good place sometimes.
5. Â What song or songs would you recommend listening to while reading “Anna In The Free-Floating World”?
Hopefully silence. Â But if someone wants to make a movie about Anna, I’d love to pick out the soundtrack. Â Right now, I like Brandi Carlile a lot, and Shawn Colvin, but if you really want to get into Anna’s mind, I think Wayne Dyer’s You’ll See It When You Believe It would be appropriate.
I so enjoyed Carolyn Kegel’s interview as well as her stories. Keep them coming!
I enjoyed reading Carolyn Kegel’s interview answers as much as I enjoyed reading her powerful story! This is a writer with keen intelligence in addition to true talent.
“Anna” is easily the best thing I’ve yet read from Ms. Kegel. She reminds us that, in the end, we are all our own tree.
I really enjoyed this book. It kept me interested from beginning to end.