A Journey of Selves: An Interview with Writer and Filmmaker Corinne Owens
Corinne Owens, a talented writer and filmmaker, recently unveiled her latest creative endeavors to the world. Hailing from the American South, Corinne's artistic journey led her to Ireland, where she pursued literature and drama at University College Dublin in 2013. Her unique experiences living in three different countries, including a return to the United States for a year of teaching in Nashville, TN, have significantly influenced her work.
Corinne's latest release includes a short film series titled "These Matterless Things" and her inaugural poetry collection, "The Sea Sleeps in the Chest." Currently based in Germany with her partner and an impressive 43 house plants, Corinne opens up about her creative process, influences, and the essence of her newly published book.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about the book you just published with Sunday Mornings at the River?
Corinne reflects on her journey, expressing, "I left the United States for Ireland when I was twenty-three years old. Since then, I’ve lived in three different countries and returned back to the US for one year to teach English in Nashville, TN. Having lived in so many different places in a short span of time, I started to experience a disjunction of self—I found that there were several different versions of me that I was not able to fully reconcile with the other versions I became each time I moved somewhere new. Writing, and writing poetry in particular, gave me a place of cohesion in that experience. As a result, this poetry collection is both a gathering of selves as well as a homecoming to a fully integrated one."
Q: What inspired you to write this book?
Corinne reveals, "I didn’t really set out to write this book. Writing for me falls under the same category as brushing teeth or making up the bed. It keeps my life in order and comes from a place of habit. Mainly, I write because I have to, and this book is the lucky consequence."
Q: What does the title mean, and why did you pick it?
"The Sea Sleeps in the Chest" holds a significant connection to Corinne's upbringing along the east coast of South Carolina. She shares, "Being near water has always been where I feel at home. At the same time, the sea carries with it a sense of restlessness. This sort of dissonance of a restless sea also being a home made sense with the many different forms of home explored in the collection. It also happens to be a line of one of the poems in the book."
Q: Who are some of your literary or artistic crushes, and did they influence you at all while writing this book?
Corinne delves into a plethora of influences, citing Joan Didion, Ron Padgett, John Ashberry, Audre Lorde, Raymond Carver, Ben Lerner, and a range of visual artists. She emphasizes the impact of these diverse voices on her work, highlighting the profound influence of their perspectives.
Q: What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your book?
"Themes present themselves naturally," Corinne remarks. "I write what I see, encounter, and think. Sometimes we go out in the world expecting to make it into something profound, but when we let it come to us and hear what it has to say instead–that’s usually more than good enough to put down."
Q: What is the key theme and/or message in the book?
"This little book of poems is about what happens in between the big moments–where the business of living unfolds," Corinne explains. "Memory, time, sisterhood, intimacy, mortality, nature, growing up, all of that. It's about the smallness of things. A tribute to the little details that make up our days and all the different versions of self that accumulate to shape a life. That’s what I was going for anyway."
Q: What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?
Corinne acknowledges her brother, Albert, as a significant influence and a constant source of inspiration. She elaborates on their unique dynamic, stating, "We have completely different styles and approaches to work, but because we have this deeply shared history, we have the incredibly rare opportunity to have an opposite who stands from a different perspective on shared subjects, values, and..."
Q: If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
"Finish the work. Whatever the quality of the outcome, just finish what you started and then go make something else."
Q: What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?
"The best money I ever spent as a writer is on other people's work. I never learn so much about the potential of language as I do while reading."
Q: What authors did you dislike at first but grew into?
Corinne shares a humorous anecdote about her initial struggle with Samuel Beckett's "Molloy" during her time in Dublin. She admits, "I found it so relentlessly claustrophobic and revolting that it would knock me out. But honestly, by the end, I truly enjoyed Molloy and so much more of Beckett’s work."
Q: What does literary success look like to you?
With a touch of humor, Corinne quips, "If my mother is reading this, I’ve made it."
Q: What’s your favorite under-appreciated novel?
Corinne recommends "The System of Vienna" by Gert Jonke, praising the author's experimental and absurd narrative set in Vienna. She shares that the English translation, gifted to her by her partner’s father, remains the most amazingly absurdist adventure through Vienna she has experienced.
Corinne Owens' literary journey is a testament to the power of self-discovery and the beauty found in the small moments of life. Her work resonates with readers as she masterfully weaves together diverse influences and perspectives, creating a tapestry of words that reflect the intricacies of the human experience.
For more on Corinne Owens and her work, visit her website shewritesinblue.com and follow her on Instagram at shewritesinblue.