We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mary Ann Cherry a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Mary Ann , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?

The great unexpected was Covid. In addition to the fatal virus, the problems that Covid visited upon us were unimaginable. No one expected schools to close and once thriving businesses to fold. My first book was published in May of 2020, just as the world was settling in for a quarantine. Before the book was shipped to bookstores, a year of planned events were cancelled. The LA Times Festival of Books – canceled. Statewide readings and interviews – all canceled. I found consolation with a few online events. Early in the birth of zoom, USC hosted a special event to introduce my book and me. There was a lot of improvisation and re-imagining old videos and interviews. It was a success. Then I was left with a big empty vessel. I had to repeatedly abandon my expectations and ground myself in what was actually happening. My spirit animal became Wile E. Coyote and everyday the Acme Corporation would deliver more news of the pandemic. There was still a lot to unpack regarding the Morris Kight biography and my job was to continually reinvent myself and my work. Over the next two years, I did many online interviews, some zoom and some by phone for podcasts and eventually in-person events began again. But it would never be the same. I felt robbed of three years of my life. Few things are the same post Covid. A lot was rearranged and new thinking emerged. For me, if I have the desire to have desert first, I have desert first. Some friendships did not survive the isolation and yet, oddly, new friendships were able to blossom. I looked at it as the Great Unexpected and looking back now, I appreciate how all the pieces of our collective lives are reorganized. Covid presented the greatest challenge to demonstrate creativity and perseverance – they will always go together. Much like the Road Runner, we live to see another day.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

As the fifth child of Irish immigrants, story telling was served with every meal. Raised in Bergen County, New Jersey, since 1977 I have called Los Angeles home. While working at Paramount Studios (1979-92), I attended the University of California Los Angeles and in 1992, I wrote for the Family Channel. 1998-99, I was invited to participate in a workshop at The Los Angeles Theatre Center under the auspices of Silas Jones. In the early 1990’s, I befriended prominent antiwar and gay rights activist Morris Kight. The day before Morris passed away in 2003, we spoke by phone and he gave me his blessing to tell his story. My instinct that his was a story worth telling soon came to fruition. My research took me to New Mexico, Texas, San Francisco, New York, and Connecticut. I discovered documents and communications that were believed to be long lost. I’m proud of the work and the final outcome. Later I created the archive for AIDS Healthcare Foundation, a worldwide health services organization in 50 different countries that began as a Los Angeles AIDS hospice. Since then, I have facilitated a number of other archives and in March 2022, ONE Archives at the University of Southern California Libraries accepted the Mary Ann Cherry Collection, featuring my research for the Morris Kight biography as well as adjunct projects including scripts, photos and videos. Once the material is processed, a detailed description of the collection will be available at: https://oac.cdlib.org/
During all of this, I enjoyed intensive studies of Yoga Therapy as applied to special conditions. I am certified and qualified with more than 25 years of experience working privately and semi-privately with people with neurological conditions.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

For any creative, the first canvas is always our own life. Is the rent paid, is there fresh food in the fridge, is health stable… all that kind of practical stuff that most creatives eschew is the same kind of stuff that’ll stall creative progress. Flexibility is necessary to survival. No artist can afford to be rigid in their thinking or living. It’s important to keep eyes and ears open for how industries reshape. Today’s video game writers are yesterday’s TV writers. I’ve had to pivot many times in my life and in retrospect, I can applaud myself for how I handled challenges. It’s not so much about reinventing one’s self as it is about repurposing our talents. I write. I like to research and write. I’ve written corporate materials as well as my own creative projects. I’ll write a menu if I need work. I will consider most any job, all kinds of businesses and individuals need a writer and a writer who can research is even more valuable. There was a time when I freelanced a lot. I had a job for the Justice Department (researching and writing about civil rights violations) at the same time I wrote reports for liability insurance and all this allowed me to write a book. I do yoga to keep my body and mind flexible. The principle that still works for me: if I see a need, I like to fill it.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

Yes! I wish I understood grant writing sooner. It’s great resource(s) for creatives and entrepreneurs and forces us to express a clear interpretation of what we are doing. I have written successful grants to fund research for my book. I’ve worked under many grants that created new yoga programs, addressing specific needs. Grants have funded some great work and some mediocre work. Point is, work gets funding from a variety of sources.
I also wish that I had understood the value in volunteerism– both personal and professional. It’s a great place to meet like-minded individuals and it is rewarding to join energies for a mutual goal. You may have nothing more in common and it’s still a great experience. I’ve made life-long friends volunteering on political campaigns and I’ve had some of the best laughs volunteering on community projects. Whatever the cause, I’m with other people who feel a civic responsibility and are generous with acts of service. These are good people and it’s a good circle to be in.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://maryanncherrywriter.com/
• Instagram: @MAcherry1111
• Facebook: Private
• Linkedin: Mary Ann Cherry
• Twitter: Nah
• Other: Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/559181029

Image Credits

first photo: Theo & Juliet