Ritah Parrish Interview

Your stories seem to mix violence with a no-bullshit kind of feminist
stance. Where do you think this style derived from?

I grew up in violent houses which, as it turns out, was a huge gift. I am
interested in what happens to people when their niceness-filter disappears
and they react from a purely human place. Who wants to read about happy
people, sitting around sipping chamomile and making daisy chains? As for
the "feminist stance" part, I don't see myself that way, but I'm a woman,
so the term "feminist" gets thrown around. I just write stories I would be
interested in reading.

How did your involvement with theater move you into writing stories?

I've been writing since I was a kid but I got away from it when I got
serious about acting. In my late twenties, it dawned on me that I could
write juicier
stuff myself, so I started doing monologue shows. Which evolved into short
stories.

Are you still involved with acting?

Yep. I don't have a lot of free time these days so I only do two shows a
year. I would like to produce another original show in the next couple of
years.

What do you aim to do with Heavy Flow?

Hell, I don't know. I'm just trying to discover some brilliant new writers
to expose. I want to do at least one book a year in this series.

What are some of your favorite books and authors?

Larry Brown: Big Bad Love and Father and Son
Harry Crews: A Feast of Snakes, Body and Car
A.M Holmes: The Safety of Objects and The End of Alice
David Sedaris: Naked
Gustav Flaubert: Madame Bovary
D.H. Lawrence: Sons and Lovers
Sommerset Maugham: Of Human Bondage

Your first "readings" were at Poetry Slams in the mid-90s. How did you like
the slam scene?

As much as I like intestinal parasytes.

Another element in your stories is the humor. What makes you laugh?

Charles Barkley
When people fall down
The Cohen Brothers
David Sedaris
Sponge Bob Square Pants
My stepson's "Sugar-Bum" dance