We recently connected with Melissa Hart and have shared our conversation below.
Melissa, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?
I absolutely love working as a freelance magazine & newspaper journalist, and as a book author and public speaker. My brain is so active, and I’m curious about almost every topic and every person, so this work allows me to get paid to learn everything from the natural history of vampire bats to how to staff a fire lookout for the wildfire season with an infant. I know exactly how I’d feel if I had a “regular job”: absolutely stifled. All that said, I’m able to freelance and speak at writing conferences and write books because my husband has an excellent full-time university job with superb health benefits.
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?
I’ve been working as a freelance writer since high school, when I had reporting positions at local newspapers before I was even old enough to drive. Later, I earned a B.A. in Literature from the College of Creative Studies at U.C. Santa Barbara and an MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College. My thesis novel became my first memoir.
I’m particularly proud of how I’ve used my writing to amplify the voices of marginalized individuals and groups. I write frequently about children in the foster care system, and about people with Down syndrome. I do a great deal of environmental and nature writing in an effort to inspire a connection between readers and the natural world with a focus on sustainability and preservation.
I’m also passionate about the ways in which literature creates empathy. This idea is the motivation for my Better with Books: 500 Diverse Books to Ignite Empathy and Encourage Self-Acceptance in Tweens and Teens (Penguin/Random House) and my two middle-grade novels, both of which feature a main character with Down syndrome based on my younger brother.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
I’d love to live in a society that spends more on the arts than on weapons. Frequently, I teach workshops on literary citizenship–on all the ways that we, as creatives, can help our colleagues to be seen in the world. It’s imperative that we support each other in getting the word out about our work, whether that looks like writing reviews or sharing social media posts or suggesting writers and other creatives to a book club or classroom teacher or librarian for a potential event.
I’m lucky to belong to a thriving creative ecosystem of women writers on Facebook; I’d love for all creatives to have a safe, supportive place in which to gather and share their work.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Among so many rewards, the most rewarding aspect of being a writer is getting to share my stories with the world. So many of my articles and essays and books are written with social justice issues in mind, and I’m grateful that editors put my work out in the world to continue the discussion of how to live a kinder, more compassionate life respectful of all people.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.melissahart.com/
- Instagram: @WildMelissaHart
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OregonMelissaHart
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-hart-4ba8736/
- Twitter: @WildMelissaHart