AN-YA CONTRIBUTORS UP-FRONT: Matthew Salesses

 

AN-YA PROJECT: CONTRIBUTORS UP-FRONT

featuring

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ Matthew Salesses

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1. Where were you born? Where do you live now?

I was born in Seoul, Korea. I just moved to Houston.

2. How and why did you become involved with the AN-YA Project?

Diane was nice enough to bring me on board.

3. Tell us about a personal accomplishment that brought you deep satisfaction.

I got break-dancing banned from all dances at my high school.

4. Imagine you are sitting on your childhood bed. Look around your bedroom. What do you see?

I see a lot of basketball posters. I see a life-sized doll who is supposed to look like me and who scares me half to death. I see the window that I like to crawl out of to get onto the roof of our garage, where I can lie at a slant and stare up at the stars.

5. Favorite book(s) when you were a child?

I just reread the Dark Is Rising sequence, by Susan Cooper. Still amazingly good. I will also always be a fan of A Wrinkle in Time.

6. Do you have any pets or a special memory of a childhood pet?

I have two cats, Boise and Bear. Two terrors.

7. Do you have any hobbies outside of your career?

I'm not a big believer in hobbies. I watch a lot of Korean dramas, but I'm trying to incorporate that into my “career.”

8. What things do you not like to do?

Be anywhere near dolls, the scent of frying mushrooms, bees, most nature. Be outside in general, sadly. Be unloved. Bargain. Apply for things. Stray from a plan. Logistical tasks.

9. Was there a teacher, for better or worse, who influenced your life’s path?

Many. For better: my fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Cantara, told me I didn't write any description; my thesis adviser at Emerson, Margot Livesey, taught me basically everything else I know about my writing.

10. Tell us about your dream meal...all of the courses and who you would like at the table with you.

Prime rib, lobster, galbi, crème brulee, coffee from Mario Batale's Otto Pizzeria. Eaten with my wife and baby.

11. What are you currently reading?

Pride and Prejudice, actually. All of my books are in boxes and I have but a kindle. Not to make excuses--it's a quite compelling novel.

12. Favorite Film with an ‘adoption narrative’?

Loosely interpreted, Kiki's Delivery Service.

13. What projects are you working on now?

I am working on a serialized illustrated-text Korean drama for the new Gazillion Voices site. Also a book about adoption.

14. Anything else you would like to share with readers?

Hi. @salesses. I wrote this book.

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(This interview is part of our on-going interview series AN-YA PROJECT: CONTRIBUTORS UP-FRONT. Matthew Salesses will also be writing for the AN-YA Project's next literary project The Perpetual Child: An Adult Adoptee Anthology.)