Know a Nominee, Part 21: Marge Simon

Welcome back to “Know a Nominee,” the interview series that puts you squarely between the ears of this year’s Bram Stoker Award nominees. Today’s second update features Marge Simon, nominated in the category of Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection, with Mary Turzillo, for Sweet Poison.

DM: Please describe the genesis for the idea that eventually became the work(s) for which you’ve been nominated. What attracted you most to the project? If nominated in multiple categories, please touch briefly on each.

MS: The genisis for SWEET POISON (poetry collection): Mary Turzillo and I decided, during one of our annual get-togethers, to collaborate on a speculative, amusing & wicked collection using a call and response theme. The idea was just floating past us in the air and we inhaled.

DM: What was the most challenging part of bringing the concept(s) to fruition? The most rewarding aspect of the process?

MS: Challenging: getting a poem for your response that sets you back on your heels — profoundly, at times with allusions to history or feelings, etc. that you aren’t very familiar with –and then you learn something new and you respond in kind –and your collaborator loves it! That’s my reward.

DM: What do you think good horror/dark literature should achieve? How do you feel the work(s) for which you’ve been nominated work fits into (or help give shape to) that ideal?

MS: “Horror” is a relative term. I can’t comment on this question. Poetry (like literature) is ever in flux, but at least give it substance, have it be well-crafted, whatever its purpose.

DM: I’m curious about your writing and/or editing process. Is there a certain setting or set of circumstances that help to move things along? If you find yourself getting stuck, where and why?

MS: I’ve got too many things going to worry about getting stuck. There’s my art, there’s a book I’m reading — a nice quiet neighborhood, and a husband who is also a writer/poet/artist. That failing, I can go outside and kick a tree until I get an idea.

DM: As you probably know, many of our readers are writers and/or editors. What is the most valuable piece of advice you can share?

MS: I never know what to say to this question. I have pages & pages of excellent quotes by other minds far brighter than mine and if I shared one of them, I doubt it would make any difference to anyone else.

DM: If you’re attending WHC this year, what are you most looking forward to at this year’s event? If not attending, what do you think is the significance of recognitions like the Bram Stoker Awards?

MS: The Awards are a grand honor, but there is more to the HWA than these recognitions. I look forward to meeting colleagues old and new!

DM: What scares you most? Why? How (if at all) does that figure into your work or the projects you’re attracted to?

MS: “Scares” is a very relevant term to me. I am scared of politics. I am scared of freakin’ fast and crowded traffic. I am scared of mediocrity and apathy. I am not scared of scary movies.

DM: What are you reading for pleasure lately? Can you point us to new authors or works we ought to know about?

MS: Join Good Reads Literary Darkness Discussion group to find that one out!

About Marge Simon

Marge Ballif Simon freelances as a writer-poet-illustrator for genre and mainstream publications such as Nebula Awards 32, Strange Horizons, Flashquake, Flash Me Magazine, Dreams & Nightmares, The Pedestal Magazine, and Vestal Review.

Marge is a former president of the Science Fiction Poetry Association. She edits the column “Blood and Spades: Poets of the Dark Side” for the monthly newsletter of the Horror Writers Association Marge has received the Bram Stoker Award, the Rhysling Award, the Dwarf Stars Award, and the Strange Horizons Readers Award for her poetry. She has also illustrated five Bram Stoker Award collections.

In addition to her solo work, Marge has written and published collaboratively with many other authors,
including Bruce Boston, Charlee Jacob, Mary Turzillo, and Malcolm Deeley.