In conversation with Melissa Nunez

Our readers would like to know your inspiration (or story, if any) behind Vibrations.

I wrote this essay while processing the loss of my father-in-law with my children. I am always in awe of the wisdom and wonder found in the words and observations of children. This essay is a tribute to the love of family and the unique perspectives of my kids.

Tell us more about your creative process in general.

I dedicate several hours each week to my creative work. I try to balance my efforts towards researching/reading, drafting, and revising. I also make time, as often as possible, for spending time outdoors. I love photographing my local wild which in turn inspires my other artistic endeavors. I love when it all comes together in a new essay, poem, or collage.

Do you have any creative influences? What do you like the most about their work? Does it have a discernible effect on your writing?

I am greatly inspired by the work of Isabelle Allende, Louise Erdrich, and Aurora Levins Morales. I love the way they speak to cultural identity, social commentary, and global justice in their own ways. I try to honor these powerful voices and themes in my own writing and evoke the necessary balance between all living things in my words and images.

Are there any creative genres, forms, themes, techniques etc. you wish you could employ in your writing which you haven’t yet?

My current project is a flash fiction collection and I am working to strengthen elements of this form. Refining the necessary details to build suspense and set up a speculative or surreal setting has been challenging but fun. I am also looking forward to enhancing my collage/hybrid art work in the coming year through photography, sketching, and watercolors. 

What are you looking forward to in your creative career?

I am looking forward to working with new mediums and magazines, continuing to build relationships in the creative community, and contributing to important conversations through my writing and art.