Line of Inquiry: Emily Pohl-Weary

Toronto author Emily Pohl-Weary grew up and still lives in the city's west end. Parkdale, a formerly elegant but now down and out neighbourhood, seeps into everything she writes.

She's currently writing a four-issue girl pirate comic (illustrated by Willow Dawson). Her young adult mystery novel, Strange Times at Western High, was published by Annick Press in the fall of 2006.

A slim collection of her poetry, Iron-On Constellations, was published in late 2005. In the fall of 2004, her first novel was released. A Girl Like Sugar is about a girl who's haunted by her dead rock star boyfriend. A critic called it "a candy kiss hiding barbed wire...as fun as eating a Ferrero Rocher."

1) As a writer (i.e. someone whose artistic practice is predicated on time spent alone) how do you approach performance? What do you get out of it?

Honestly? I still get very nervous before stepping out from behind my computer to do a reading or speak in public. Usually the butterflies hit seconds before it's my turn to get up on stage, so I try to use the anxious energy to propel my performance. Sometimes it works, sometimes, well...ahem. The times it doesn't are when the audience probably gets a taste of the real me. But there's a certain adrenaline rush that comes from forcing yourself to do something out of your comfort zone. It's good to shake yourself up a little.

2) What do you want people to know about Strange Times at Western High?

Strange Times was my opportunity to rewrite my high school years. Ha ha. I was able to create an alter-ego named Natalie Fuentes - a fearless teen girl who doesn't really care about being popular, has more on her mind than boys and clothes (she self-publishes a zine), and doesn't falter in the face of peer pressure or threatening situations.

3) What are you looking forward to in Winnipeg?

I love visiting the galleries like Plug In and Mondragon Bookstore, so hopefully I'll have time to just wander around a bit. I'm also looking forward to checking out some of the other readings and seeing friends.

4) What are you reading right now?

Okay, I tried to stall on answering this question until I was reading something that's not too embarrassing. The sad thing is that time will never come.

I've got about five books on the go and none of them are exactly high-brow.

Open on my bedside table are: Tamora Pierce's Sandry's Book (Circle of Magic Book 1); Lynne Ewing's Goddess of the Night (Daughters of the Moon Book 1); Lauren Haney's A Curse of Silence (a mystery set in ancient Egypt); Francine Pascal's Starting Over (a Sweet Valley High novel); and Vikki Stark's My Sister, My Self: Understanding the Sibling Relationship That Shapes Our Lives, Our Loves, and Ourselves.

I've also been watching old episodes of Gilmore Girls for like the 4,000th time.

It's all "research." Right?

Right?


Emily Pohl-Weary will be appearing at THIN AIR, Winnipeg International Writers Festival:

September 26 - School Stage, with Brendan McLeod.
September 27 - Campus Program, with Maureen Fergus.