Susan Blackwell Ramsey is not a Northwest author. She’s a Michigander. But she heavily praises Brian Doyle and Marilynne Robinson in this interview with Foreword Reviews, so we’re going to adopt her for the moment. She’s also smart, funny and charming, dropping a great Neil Gaiman advice quote for writers, an invitation to the interviewer to dish more detail over drinks, and a crack about juggling writing time with the planning her daughter’s wedding.
Ramsey’s latest collection of poems, A Mind Like This is a Prairie Schooner Book Prize winner. Susan, if you ever make a swing out west, let us know. We’ll find some indies to take you in.
Brian — I’m checking with my legal minions to see if that offer is binding — I have friends in Seattle, Portland, Eugene, Boulder … What I lack is a friend with a jet. Thanks for the boost; if I’d known you’d be reading it I’d have mentioned Martha Silano, David Wagoner, David James Duncan and Tom Robbins, too!
We’ll give you a list of phone numbers and an endorsement!