Mollyis the concupiscent curator

Gaudry (molly.gaudry@gmail.com)

of Willows Wept Review and Press. She is

on staff at Keyhole Magazine and works
for a literacy agency in Philadelphia. She
has been published in such venues as
Hobart, Night Train, and the writerly
anger-inducing Eyeshot. She is the author
of We Take Me Apart (Mud Luscious
Press, 2009).
I noticed her sometime last year, and
finally took the time to find out her
origins in the form of an interview.
!is interview was conducted over
Gmail between May 14th and 16th, 2009, is
set in Capsa, and was OpenOffice-born.
P. H. Madore: What drives you to follow this thing we
call 'Internet literature' and less-commercial stuff
generally?

Molly Gaudry: Well, I try to keep up with the more-

commercially, traditionally published literature, too,
but I can't really afford to buy a lot of subscriptions.
One of these days, when I've got a bit more cash flow,
I'll probably subscribe to more university-affiliated
journals than I do currently.
!at said, I came to Internet literature after having
discovered Blake Butler's story, "!e Gown from
Mother's Stomach" in Ninth Letter. I liked his story so
much I read his bio, which directed me to his blog, and
from there I was able to link to and read his online
stories and poems. While reading his work, I discovered
other writers whose names I saw over and over again --
Kim Chinquee comes especially to mind. !ese writers
are responsible for introducing me to Internet
literature. Once introduced, it was impossible not to fall
in love. And not just with their stories and poems but
with the writers themselves, their sense of community,
their willingness to promote each other, share each
others' words. !e desire to be a part of their
community is in small part what kept me coming back
(daily, weekly) to Internet literature; and, now that I
am a part of it, I feel it is my duty and privilege to keep
following it, to follow it every day.

PHM: How long have you been doing this?

MG: Butler's story was published in the summer of

2008. In July, I began to submit stories and poems to
online journals—Lamination Colony, Titular, Robot
Melon, UpRightDown, and Keyhole—to name a few.

PHM: What is a "Green City Joint"?

MG: A "Green City Joint" is a story or poem featuring a

character with some connection to Green City. What's
Green City? It's the fictional location where the
majority of my work is set. Matriarchal and matrilineal,
Green City is a place run by two ruling classes:
Survivors and womben. Survivors are descendants of
the thirteen founding mothers, and womben have
advantages we women here in the real world simply
don't have—like full and total control over our bodies,
our reproductive rights.
Additionally, Green City is a geographic
phenomenon (I was lucky enough to design its
topography and landforms with the help of urban
planners at the University of Cincinnati's Design Art
Architecture and Planning program, as well as
doctoral students in the Geography department). !ere
are four quadrants, each with its own weather system
(think the United States, without the midwest). !ere
are mountains in the northwest; the southwest is desert;
the southeast is sub-tropical, and the northeast is the
land of four seasons. All within a hundred-mile radius,
Green City is a tourist's haven. !e local / tourist,
natural / unnatural, and womben / women binaries
provide the bases for much of my work's dramatic
conflicts.
At this time, I'm still working out kinks, but I'm
hoping my first novel will really bring the city to life,
which will then give greater context and provide more
relevant backstories to many of my currently published
short fictions. For instance, one of the founding
mothers, Ivy Oe, has a street named after her in Last
time it rained this hard the dog drowned (Lamination
Colony), and has a great-great granddaughter, Loretta
Oe, in Apple Baby Moses Law (Robot Melon). !ese
stories, the womben in them, are not unconnected.

PHM: What sets Willows Wept Review apart and more

importantly what sets Willows Wept Press apart?

MG: I think what sets Willows Wept Review apart from

other nature writing venues is that it tries to redefine
the old model of "nature writing." I tend to accept
stories and poems that seem as if they'd have a difficult
time finding homes in more traditional nature-themed
journals. As a reader, I enjoy elements of surrealism,
magical realism, irrealism, and fantasy. I believe these
elements, when utilized to explore, celebrate, or
problematize the relationship between human beings
and the natural world, often yield a greater appreciation
for nature—if for no other reason than that the recasting
of nature in these bizarre roles helps to defamiliarize and
remind us to rethink our own relationships with and
understanding of nature.
I'm not sure what sets the press apart from others.
I started it because there were writers out there whose
work I wanted to support, to publish in book form. I
doubt any other small presses felt any differently when
they began. WWP is simply another venue. !ere is no
particular theme or motive but the common practice of
publishing excellence.

PHM: Where does the name come from?

MG: Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own—On the

further bank the willows wept in perpetual
lamentation, their hair about their shoulders.
PHM: What do you do for a living?

MG: I work for a non-profit literacy organization and

teach three GED classes: the first services women who
have been incarcerated and now live in a halfway house;
the second services men, post-incarceration, on the
men's side of the facility; and the third services parents
of children at an elementary school (here, one of our
goals is to help parents help their children with
homework).

PHM: Are you for or against any of the many dividing

lines in the literary world (like MFA/non?)

MG: I'm not entirely sure I understand this question.

Regarding the MFA issue, and what I think you might
be getting at, I'm probably for divisions. Specifically, I
like to see dedication to one's chosen craft. Degrees—
BAs, BFAs, MAs, MFAs, Ph.Ds—seem indications that
those who've earned them have at some point made
bold and risky decisions to devote years of their lives to
the study of craft with the intention of hoping to
become better (or at least more educated). As an
educator of adult learners, adults who have not had the
benefits of education beyond junior high or high school,
I have an appreciation for learning, for those who want
to learn, for those who demonstrate their willingness
and desire to study, to struggle, to succeed.

PHM: How emotionally involved do you feel to your

Gmail inbox?

MG: I feel like the answer can be found in Linda

Pastan's poem, “Marks”. Replace husband, son, and
daughter with Gmail; replace all the domestic chores
with Gmail functions, and there you have it: Wait 'til
Gmail learns / I'm deleting my account.

PHM: What is your most played song in iTunes?

MG: I recently lost all of my iTunes because my old

laptop died. I've yet to begin replacing my music
(Pandora's good enough for now), but if I had to guess
I'd say my most played song was Ani DiFranco's Dilate.
A close second, either Cat Power's Good Woman or Joni
Mitchell's Blue.

PHM: If you had ten writers who sounded exactly the

same but were all good because of it and one writer who
was slowly improving but sounded different, which
would you promote?
MG: I would promote the one, out of the ten, who has
the strongest track record of promoting others. Super
extra tireless promotion from me if that person has
helped to promote the one writer who was slowly
improving. Privately, I would send encouragement to
the slow improver.

PHM: Why do you use Blogspot?

MG: !e first blogs I ever read—Blake Butler's,

Porochista Khakpour's, and Kim Chinquee's—were
all at Blogspot.

PHM: What movie have you watched more than five

times?

MG: Anything Pixar and the first Harry Potter.

PHM: If you could trade your soul for anything, what

would it be?

MG: A good man who never makes me wonder if I

missed the boat and should've kept looking; a couple of
terrific adopted kids; a couple of terrific adopted adults
(just because they're adults and out of the orphanage
doesn't mean they aren't looking for a family, a home);
a relaxed, happy lifestyle that allows us all to summer in
a cabin by a pond we call a lake.

PHM: If you were alive during his time and Willy

Shakespeare plagiarized you, what would you have
done about it?

MG: Told him to stand still while I used his head to

perfect my T-ball skills.

PHM: In this for the long haul?

MG: Totally.

PHM: Want to get a drink

sometime?

MG: Of course! I like my martinis made with vodka.

Extra dirt. What's with you trying to develop a huge
following of ladies? Madoreable!
Mentionables:

Molly Gaudry
mollygaudry.blogspot.com

Willows Wept Review

willowsweptreview.blogspot.com

Willows Wept Press

willowsweptpress.blogspot.com

Twelve Stories
readtwelvestories.com

Keyhole
keyholemagazine.com

Robot Melon
robotmelon.com

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