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Poppy Z. Brite
Every so often, someone with amazing talent comes along and shakes things up in the world of horror. Having written several novels, two books of short stories, a biography and editing two anthologies, Poppy Z. Brite has begun to make a huge mark on the world of horror. A mark that will only become more prominent as her work becomes more widely read.
I had the chance to ask Poppy Z. Brite some questions and here they are for your pleasure.
Pat McGreal: Who are the main influences in your writing?
Poppy Z. Brite: Ray Bradbury, John Lennon, Dylan Thomas, Harlan Ellison, Ramsey Campbell, Carson McCullers, Peter Straub, Flannery O'Connor, Stephen King ... these are just a few indispensables whom come immediately to mind.
PM: Your short story "His Mouth will Taste of Wormwood" appeared in the "Cthulu 2000" anthology. How did H.P. Lovecraft influence your writing?
PZB: "Wormwood" is a retelling of Lovecraft's "The Hound," part homage and part parody (and all rip-off, according to some of the more tightassed Lovecraft fanboys). He's not a huge influence -- I've been reading Poe, for instance, since I was 4, and didn't discover Lovecraft until my late teens -- but I admire the sense of cosmic awe he was capable of evoking, and I love his purple prose.
PM: In addition to having written several novels, a biography on Courtney Love and numerous short stories, you have also edited two anthologies "Love in Vein" and "Love in Vein 2." What was it like to sit on the other side of that desk?
PZB: Marty Greenberg did all the tedious stuff, like contracts and checks. He was my angel. All I had to do was solicit and read stories from authors I liked. Actually getting paid for this struck me as a fine and novel thing.
PM: Having done such a variety of work, what do you think you might do in the future? Possibly screenplays, or even acting?
PZB: Good God, no.
PM: It has been reported that you are currently working on a new novel and a second collection of short stories. What can you tell us about these?
PZB: I stopped working on the second collection of short stories some time ago -- it was published by Gauntlet Press late last year, and just came out from Orion in the UK. It's called ARE YOU LOATHSOME TONIGHT? here and SELF-MADE MAN over there. The novel is on hold right now. I spent pretty much all of my twenties writing novels, and I have no interest in cranking them out one a year as seems to be expected in the horror genre. When the next thing I have to do comes to me, I'll do it, but I won't write a novel just because I'm supposed to. Right now I'm working on a novella which will be published by Subterranean Press next year. I did a chapbook with them earlier this year, THE SEED OF LOST SOULS, and enjoyed the experience so much that I jumped at the offer to do another. I'm also constantly working on short stories and magazine articles. In the past year I've written for Nerve, Details, the Matrix website, Peter Crowther's upcoming anthology TAPS AND SIGHS, Cosmopolitan, the Hellboy anthology, and others.
PM: You recently released "The Bad Mouse," a story that you wrote as a young girl and your mother recorded you telling it, on CD. Why did you want to do this?
PZB: Because I suspect it may be my greatest work.
PM: As production on "The Crow: Salvation" continues, rumors continue to suggest that this film is based on your novel "The Crow: The
Lazarus Heart." How much truth is behind this rumor?
PZB: Can't discuss this for legal reasons, sorry.
PM: It has already gone public that Poppy Z. Brite is a pen name. Would you tell us your real name?
PZB: My real name is Poppy Z. Brite. That's the name I have lived and worked under since I was 14. I was born Melissa Ann Brite, as it says on the Bad Mouse CD, but in no way does that feel like my "real" name any more.
PM: Now I'd like to do something a little different. I will give you several words or phrases and I'd like to get your opinion on them.
Horror- A universal way of exploring universal fears and obsessions.
Gothic- Wretched but lovely excess.
Beauty- the 10th anniversary I just had with my husband. (mush -- sorry!)
Author- a hapless schlub walking around the house clutching his head in the blue horror of dawn; prototypically, Edward Gorey's Mr. Earbrass.
Jumbo Shrimp- an oxymoron unknown in New Orleans (possibly the only moron unknown in New Orleans).
PM: Any last words that you would like to say?
PZB: Spool. I love that word. Spooooooool.
For more information on Poppy Z. Brite, visit Pandora Station.
Interview conducted by Pat McGreal.