Q&A with Ecuadorian-American Writer Cristi Donoso

Cristi Donoso and I met virtually during VONA (Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation) this year. Although we attended different workshops (Cristi took Comedy Writing with Zahra Noorbakhsh, and I took Narrative Journalism/Memoir with Roberto Lovato), we met virtually through Zoom and Slack. We connected when we found out we were both Latina writers in the DMV area. Cristi is from Ecuador and currently lives in Virginia, just outside DC.

Without knowing it, we both had more in common than we realized (six-degrees-of-separation rule!) In the past, we were both writers in residence at the PEN/Faulkner Foundation, and we were friends with Yohanca Delgado (you can read her interview here). Cristi also holds an MFA in Creative Writing from American University like Yohanca.

In this interview, Cristi shares her journey as a writer — which started as a child. “I think as a third and fourth grader, I already had a strong interest in writing,” she says. “I remember I attended a summer writing conference for kids sometime in elementary school, and I was completely hooked on learning how to tell a story well.”

Currently, she is editing her first collection of poems, which was a finalist for the Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize at the University of Notre Dame Press. “I’m thinking about a new collection and what shape I’d like that to take because the first one grew somewhat organically out of the themes I was exploring during my MFA,” she says. Donoso is not only a poet but also a nonfiction and prose/fiction writer. She is doing pre-writing for a project in that genre. “I feel like I have a lot of work in an incubation phase right now. I’m hoping to start getting more words down in the fall.”

Multi-talented Cristi is also a speech-language pathologist and a former foster parent. She is also available for literary translation. I can’t wait to read her books when they are out in the world! In the meantime, if you want to read her current publications, you can check her website: www.cristidonoso.com. You can also follow her on Twitter: @cristideebee

Tell us about your journey as a writer.

I basically quit writing as a young teenager. It did not occur to me that I could actually work towards becoming a writer at that age. But any praise or interest my teachers showed in my writing, I really treasured that. I kept their handwritten feedback as proof that I really was a writer, even if it felt like a secret love. I think that’s why giving handwritten feedback to students is so important to me — I want young writers to see evidence of the magic they can create on the page.

What do you wish you’d known as a beginning writer?

I wish I had not been so hard on myself. I demanded so much of myself that I had to quit because there was no way for me to write with the level of skill that I wished I had. I was ignorant of what a lifelong apprenticeship in writing is for most writers. I wish I had given myself permission to try and learn at any pace.

What is your main inspiration for your poetry?

I started writing poetry as a way of coping with grief. I did not see myself as a poet, even as I was applying to an MFA program with a poetry manuscript. It was something I had to do. And then, as I read more and more, I found I couldn’t give it up. I feel that poetry is a way of witnessing each other’s hopes and tragedies, and that’s always been important to me as a person. The act of sitting beside someone and sharing their grief (or joy) without comment, without advice, without judgment — I think that’s what I want to give and receive.

Can you tell us a little bit about your journey as a translator?

I was very fortunate to learn translation from David Keplinger, one of my poetry professors at American University, who is known for his translation work as well as his poetry. He encouraged me to take on a project that would challenge me, and I found it thrilling to translate the work of another Ecuadorian writer and to dive into our dichos and the way that we perceive different registers and cadences of language. I hope to do quite a bit more literary translation in the future.

How would you describe your writing style?

I tend to use spare language; my poetry especially can be quite minimalistic. But that requires great precision. So that’s a challenge that’s always before me. I’m trying to learn from poems that embody maximalism because I love how lush and immersive they can be. But I love concision. I love sharp language.

What was your favorite part of getting your MFA?

I think just being in a room of writers, where everyone is thinking so deeply and earnestly about the art itself, is such a privilege. Coming to writing after having already developed a career in another field was a revelation for me. I learned so much from my classmates and professors. It sounds so simple, but just being allowed to learn in that space that’s so charged with the energy of other artists — I’m so grateful for that.

How has the pandemic affected your work?

I think, like so many other writers, I’ve struggled with distraction and having the energy to write in addition to the work of daily life. The pandemic started during my MFA, so from one day to the next, we lost our in-person community and became an online one. That was hugely disappointing, but nothing compared to the anxiety and grief of just trying to keep yourself and your loved ones safe and healthy and processing all of the loss around you.

Earlier this year, you published a piece in Catapult about writing alone: “Slow Readers, Let’s Leave Shame Behind.” I felt seen and identified a lot with your words because I’m also that type of writer (a slow-reader-kinda-writer). Can you tell us a little bit about the process of writing and publishing this piece?

This is a piece that sort of marinated in my brain for quite some time. One day I felt I had the energy to write it, and it poured out, which is something I’m always amazed by when it happens. I spent some time editing and revising it, and I knew Catapult was a dream magazine for it because it feels like such a home for writers. I sent a pitch for their Don’t Write Alone feature (along with a full draft of the piece) and was so thrilled when they accepted it. Eliza Harris and Allisen Litchenstien at Catapult edited the essay, and they helped me revise it to what I hoped it could be. I wanted it to be a love letter to reading, audiobooks, and accessibility for all.

You can read her piece here.

What can you recommend to other writers who feel the pressure to read a lot and fast?

Even though I wrote that essay, I still struggle with wishing I could read more often and faster than I do. I think realizing how much time I spend with the work of other writers, even when I’m not physically reading, has helped me shrug off those expectations a bit. When I’m invested in a story, I’m turning over a stunning sentence in my mind all day or thinking about the characters and how the writer has made them feel alive to me. I’m engaging with the ideas they’ve introduced, the paradoxes, and the moral questions. Poems, stories, and books with that power allow you to savor literature. It doesn’t have to be gulped down all at once.

If you could share one or two writing tips, what would they be?

I’ll give the advice I’m trying to follow myself right now, which is: don’t be afraid to break the form you’re working with. Whether it’s a poem, a story, or a book, make the rules work for you or break them, so they work for the piece you’re writing. This is something I learned from Kyle Dargan, who was one of my professors at American University. Rig the form towards your goals. It’s actually harder to break the rules than you’d think because they often serve us well. Don’t be afraid to play until you find the form, structure, or rules that best fit the heart of your work.

Who are your favorite authors?

This is a moving target because I’m usually obsessed with whoever I’m currently reading because the work is so fresh in my mind. Ada Limón and Chen Chen are poets I’ll never read enough of. In non-fiction, Cathy Park Hong. Min Jin Lee is the fiction writer of my dreams. She can create a sweeping, epic novel without a single word feeling out of place. Jhumpa Lahiri will always have a special place in my heart as the writer who made me fall in love with short stories. I recently read Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder, and she absolutely stunned me with her prose and her ability to capture the way motherhood is often experienced in this country.

And lastly, what are you currently reading?

I just finished reading More Than You’ll Ever Know by Katie Gutierrez, so I’m still processing what she accomplished with that book. It’s such a rich exploration of the inner lives of women. I’m listening to God Help the Child by Toni Morrison, which she narrated herself. I don’t think we always realize what a treasure audiobooks can be for those of us who read that way — hearing her read the entire novel aloud is so moving. I also have The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings on hold and can’t wait to get started on that one.