Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Michelle Wren. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Michelle thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Every time I put pen to paper, it’s a risk. This risk could come at any time during the process. It could be when I first sit down to write when I realize that the idea in my head just doesn’t translate to language. This is when doubt comes looming around the corner. However, the risk is most apparent when the words become truth. I have made it my personal aesthetic, objective, and intention to tell the truth. Recently I have had publications go live and they exist to tell the truth:  the truth about aging, sex, desire, ownership, loss, and ultimately independence and identity.

Michelle, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I suffered a great loss when I was a teenager. It took me 33 years to tell that grief. I was invited to share that piece at The Kaneko as part of a story-telling event through UNO. When I looked into the audience, I saw tears. That, although it may sound selfish, is rewarding. I conveyed something so deeply painful that others were able to feel that loss. Hopefully that audience went out and LOVED. Truly loved and explored their experience in the time we have here.

When I sit down to write I ask myself: who do I want to read this? what is my intention? This sentence has no segue. Is it missing a prompt?

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

One of my favorite essays, by Audre Lorde, is “Poetry is not a Luxury.” Her impetus for writing that piece is greatly different from my own, but it is a reminder that writing has purpose, for the author and the audience. All art has the possibility of changing outlooks, viewpoints, perspectives! We all have a responsibility to create.

Additionally, if I were pressed to offer recommendations, they would be anything from the canons of: Sharon Olds, Dorianne Laux, and Kim Addonizio. Recently, I have devoured Danez Smith’s “Don’t Call us Dead.” If these works have a common thread, it is that even if it means suffering pain or judgement, truth and authenticity will always have value.