Manjula Martin
OSGF
Q&A With Manjula Martin
Tell us a little about yourself - whatever you think is important to know!
I once jumped a train.
How have the events of the past year impacted your writing practice? How have they changed your relationship with the natural world?
I live in the woods in California, so for me the past year has been about cascading disasters: pandemic, fire, late-stage capitalism. In my life and work I’ve been reckoning with what it’s like to be a human who lives on this planet at a time when our ability to do so is increasingly limited, and it’s mostly our fault.
Historically, what ideas, issues, and subject matter(s) have inspired your work?
Everything I’ve ever read, anything I’ve yet to read, everything, everything!
Tell us about “Dawn Patrol,” the piece you submitted for the OSGF blog. What inspired you to write this piece, and what do you hope readers take away from it?
The piece was inspired by my dad, who is the hardest working writer and gardener I know, and who truly loves the work.
What creative projects are you currently working on?
I’m currently in the weeds of a new draft of my first novel, and I’m also beginning research for what will be a nonfiction book. Both projects generally concern California, the natural world, and the body.
What are you reading right now?
Spring by Ali Smith
“The Descent of Alette” by Alice Notley (re-reading)
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Roadside Geography of Northern and Central California by David Alt and Donald W. Hyndman
The Book of Difficult Fruit by Kate Lebo (which will be published in April 2021)
What is your favorite plant?
That’s a horrible choice to have to make! I swear allegiance to the largest and one of the longest-lived plants on Earth, a tree I’ve known well since childhood: Sequoia sempervirens, the Coast Redwood.
Learn more about Manjula and her work here.
Images courtesy of Manjula Martin. “Calling the Sun” print copyright © 2019 by Stephanie Zeiler Martin.