The Emily Rapp Interview

Today is the day to stop trying to be so damn witty for once.

Looking for Team Pam/Team Karen shirts? Find them here!

I first heard of today's interviewee a few weeks ago in a Fresh Air interview. She recently published her memoir late last year called Poster Child, about her experiences as a literal poster child for the March of Dimes after being with a congenital defect and eventually undergoing a foot amputation. Once I read more about her, though, that practically seems like a footnote (no pun intended) compared to other various items on her resume; she is a former Fulbright scholar recipient, a Harvard grad, and an accomplished skier, amongst a litany of other accomplishments.

The Emily Rapp Interview: Slightly Less Than Twenty Questions

You've called many different places home: which is your favorite?
My favorite city is Dublin, Ireland; I like a little grit with my city, and Dublin's got plenty. Plus, you've got to love a place where beer is a food group and people have real wit and attitude combined with a belief that kindness is a virtue worth cultivating. And I've never seen a sunset as beautiful as the one over the Liffey river in mid-summer. I also have a real love for the open sky and "big land" feeling of Wyoming. There's a real toughness of spirit combined with an honest, down-to-earth hospitality towards strangers that you don't find in many places.

What's the most difficult thing to teach young writers?

That writing is not glamorous or rewarding on a daily basis; it's a job; it's work.

Is it hard as a writing teacher when a student shares some profoundly personal yet not-very-good writing? How do you let them know it's their writing but not their story that's the problem?
Yes. It's important for any teacher of writing to engage the piece on the level of craft. Are the sentences well-crafted? Are the metaphors original and apt? When you can make it about the creation of art and not about the content, then you're doing your job. It's important to be frank and honest, but you don't have to be brutal. People are putting themselves out there; as a teacher, you must respect that; as a writer, you must admire it.

Which comes more naturally to you, working in fiction or non?
Neither. They are both equally difficult to do. Both involve the requisite amount of wailing and hair-pulling.

I have heard that there are amputation fetishists. After writing this book, did you hear from anybody who seemed to be more interested in your amputation than in your story?

Nope. And I hope I don't. I don't have any patience for that. Devotees, please take note.

Your hair looks fabulous in every photo I see of you. What kind of shampoo do you use?

Thanks! I use those weird shower gel-shampoo-conditioner combos that smell like cinnamon buns or peppermint patties. It's good to smell like food! Warning, though: I had my hands swabbed once at the aiport after just having washed my hair with the combo stuff and put my hands through it, and the swabs tested positive for explosives. So that's a little weird. Who knows what's in that stuff?

What path led you to divinity school?

Would you believe a burning bush? Just kidding. I've always been interested in religion, because it's the one area of study that deals with the question that everyone is always thinking about:

Can you tell us something about divinity school that would surprise most people who don't know anything about it?
Lots of boozers end up in Divinity School. I never went out to bars as much in any graduate program, and that includes a graduate writing program.

How were you a poster brat?

I was a precocious, demanding, hyper, terribly stubborn and moody child. My parents had their hands full with me.

On Fresh Air, you discussed being in touch with other Poster Children--how did you get in touch with them?

Some of them are my students! Also, after you've been a poster child, you're fitted with a homing device...just kidding.

What advice do you have for fellow writers looking for university teaching jobs?

Be willing to go anywhere.

Who are your literary parents?

Hey, this was a question at one of my job interviews. People who read question 11 should prepare to answer this question at the MLA. I would say my biggest influences are Caroline Knapp, Lucy Grealy, James Joyce, and Virginia Woolf. Not sure any of them would want me as literary offspring, though.

Did you hear from James Frey or any of his friends/detractors after your piece in the Texas Observer?

No. Aack!

Where's your favorite place to ski?

Winter Park, Colorado.

Is it strange as an author to be able to access so many reviews of your book by Googling? Are you curious to know what Joe Blog had to say about your book or you don't pay that much attention?
I've been forbidden to do this. I had to stop googling myself. My friends staged an intervention.

How do you think your life would have been different had you not had your amputation and been a poster child?
Can't imagine it. I've always had a disability, so I don't know...I suppose I might be a better runner, although I'm not too shabby now. Maybe I'd be less vain? Maybe I'd be a couch potato? Hard to say.

What do you think are the best reasons to seek an MA or MFA in creative writing?
To develop as an artist; it's not a job guarantee

How does it feel to be the 172nd person interviewed for Zulkey.com?

I've always liked that number....

More interviews here!