Contributor Spotlight: Brandon Hobson
Brandon Hobson’s story “Cohasset River” appears in Midwestern Gothic Issue 9, out now.
How long have you been writing?
I started writing fiction in college, so I guess for about twenty years.
What’s your connection to the Midwest?
I live in Oklahoma. I’ve spent time in Kansas, Indiana, Illinois. I hitchhiked once with a friend from Indiana back to Oklahoma. I won’t hitchhike again.
How has the Midwest influenced your writing?
The landscape, probably, and the people I grew up around who had really hard jobs. Railroad workers, farmers, welders. Those sorts of people.
Why do you believe there has never really been a regionalist push for Midwestern writing in the past like there has with the South or even the West Coast?
My guess is that there’s such a strange mix of writers with all sorts of sensibilities and voices. I think maybe we’re starting to see a push, though. Jason Lee Brown edits the anthology Best of the Midwest, which is fantastic and includes a number of regional voices. It’s really a strong anthology.
How do you feel about social media to promote your writing, and do you use it?
I use it just about every day. I almost always find links to articles and interviews through social media. My friends who are writers usually post links and information regarding their work or the work of others.
Favorite book?
How about favorite books? There are so many. The first book I loved was Catcher in the Rye. Off the top of my head: DeLillo’s White Noise, Wallace’s Infinite Jest, Kathy Acker’s Pussy, King of the Pirates, Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49. Right now I’m reading Angela Carter’s Burning Your Boats, which is amazing and should be included on this list. I can go on and on.
Favorite food?
M&Ms. I’m like a junkie on my knees, eating those things off the dirt.
If you could have coffee (or tea or a beer) with any literary figure, alive or dead, who would it be?
This is like the favorite book list. There are just too many to list. Renata Adler would be interesting.
Where can we find more information about you?
Here: http://vilarcreativeagency.com/author/brandon-hobson
I’m also on Twitter: @bwhobson.
