We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Christine Grillo. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Christine below.
Alright, Christine thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?
I’ve had regular jobs for most of my adult life, and I’ve always searched for time and space to do creative work. Sometimes I’m more successful than other times, but the struggle is real. Regular jobs are great in that they can provide a steady paycheck and health insurance, but there are days when they don’t leave much time or energy for creative pursuits. In the fantasy version of my life, I have a lovely daily schedule filled with exercise, yoga, meditation, and hours and hours of writing. I think that would make me very happy. Thank goodness for writing residencies! When I devote many days in a row to writing – without interference from my regular job or household duties – I almost enter a dream state. I walk around in a daze, and I wonder if I might accidentally walk into traffic. So, that kind of life might be unsustainable for me. It could be that my job and children and home keep me grounded, and that eking out time to write is working out fine.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
When I realized that I loved writing, I applied to and was accepted into the Writing Seminars program at the Johns Hopkins University. I wrote stories for quite a while, and I expanded into writing for magazines and newspapers. Over the last 20 years I’ve done a lot of freelance articles for outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, Audubon, and Real Simple, as well as many local Baltimore magazines. I’ve worked for 15 years as a science writer for a research program that investigates food systems – but I’ve always tried to nurture and make time for creative writing. In 2023 Farrar Straus and Giroux published my first novel, Hestia Strikes a Match, which follows a 40-something woman as she searches for love and friendship during the second American civil war.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
I like to think that one of the important things that writers do is to remind readers that people are complicated, and often broken or wounded. It’s tempting for humans to imagine that other people’s lives are easy, or glamorous, or mean, when the truth is more nuanced. Very few people set out to be the bad guy; we don’t usually mean to hurt people. But we do hurt people, and I love when a good story or novel expands our perspectives on that.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Being a mother has been a huge part of my growth as an artist. But being a parent, especially if you’re a woman, can jeopardize or make it impossible to be artist in this culture. We often have to give up on creative dreams because we need jobs with health insurance, or other benefits. If society wanted to support artists and any other kind of creative enterprise, we would nationalize health care, prioritize child care and education, and work toward a more equitable distribution of wealth.
Contact Info:
- Website: christinegrillo.us
- Instagram: @christine.grillo
- Twitter: @GrilloCM