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Shaun Levin Interview


Writewords talks to Shaun Levin, novelist and short story writer, whose work can be read in the collections Does The Sun Rise Over Dagenham?, Bad Jobs, Quickies, Best Gay Erotica and Boyfriends From Hell. Find out more about Shaun at: www.shaunlevin.com or www.gaymenwriting.co.uk



What’s your writing background?

I’ve just published a novella with recipes called Seven Sweet Things. I used to work as a cook in a nursery school, which is where I perfected my cookie and cake making, and really discovered a love for baking. I never baked that much before, and most of my cooking jobs were savoury-related. I also had a brief academic career at Tel Aviv University and wrote book reviews for an Israeli broadsheet. Before that I served in the Israeli army, and before that I grew up in South Africa. These aren’t exactly career moves, but they are experiences that have fed into my writing. I’ve been teaching creative writing for about ten years, which keeps me engaged with the art and craft of writing, and forces me to find words for the process of creation, an experience that can feel quite spiritual.

How, when and why did you first start writing?

I suppose like most people who become writers, I’ve always written in one form or another; from poems of longing and freedom in my mid-teens, to little love stories and tales of gore and suicide in my early twenties. That kind of stuff. From the moment I read Jack Kerouac’s On the Road and Ann Charters’ biography of Kerouac I knew that being a writer is what I wanted; Kerouac was the kind of writer I wanted to be. Obviously, I am not and never have been anything like him. Most of the travelling and spontaneity happens in my head rather than on any physical road! And I’m too scared to take drugs. I still dream of all that, though.

Short or long fiction- how different is your writing experience?

Most of my fiction is short. I approach my longer fiction, too, as a series of short stories; each chapter is a story in itself. A lot of novels are like that – If you look at Michael Cunningham’s work, especially Flesh and Blood, what it is really is a series of fragments. I think I’d get too overwhelmed – I do get overwhelmed – if I take on a piece of work and call it “a novel.” That would be like starting a relationship and saying: Okay, now we’re going to be together for life.

Who are your favourite writers, books etc and why?

Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children is definitely one of my favourites. I love the way he plays around with language; it’s just great storytelling – and a great story. It’s amazing how it’s such a political book and you never feel like it is when you’re reading it, and I think that has a lot to do with the way he tells the story. Other writers I love are Andrew Holleran, Chekhov, Mark Doty, and a young American writer called Matt Bernstein Sycamore. They are all exciting storytellers; I would read them no matter what they wrote about. I’m not a plot person. I’ve just read Wuthering Heights for the first time and was completely blown away; it has taken me 8 years of living in England to be able to read that book. The Brontes always felt very alien to me when I was growing up and living in South Africa and Israel; it’s like: how do you get your head around the Yorkshire moors when you’re spending half your life on the beach?

How did you feel when you first started sending your writing out into the world?


I just did it. My first couple of stories were accepted quite quickly (in 1992) and that gave me the confidence to keep writing and to keep sending out stories. I do, however, have a pretty substantial pile of rejection slips.

What was your breakthrough moment?

I think it was the realisation that I could write whatever I wanted and there would be someone somewhere who would publish it. By “whatever I wanted” I mean if I remain true to myself and write with integrity, rather than what I think people want to read or might like to read. So I write about what I love: sex, food, and, well, love.

How do you handle rejections?

I’m quite bullheaded so I’m not deeply effected by rejections. I suppose that’s what comes of being bullied as a kid, you just pick yourself up and keep going. I suppose it’s a case of sticks and stones… and rejections can never hurt you! What rejection does is make me look at my work again, makes me come back to it and reconsider, and if I think it’s still an honest piece of writing, I’ll keep sending it out; if not, I’ll let it sit for a bit and then keep working on it.

What excites you about a piece of writing- what keeps you going, both as a writer and a reader?

Honesty excites me. I love that feeling when you read something and you sense you’re getting a glimpse of another person’s soul. I try and be completely open and exposed when I write; I am excited when I manage to do that, when I see it is possible to be so honest about your life and your imagination and still create a thing of beauty.

What’s the worst thing about writing?

I don’t like the solitary nature of writing. I like to write in cafés and parks and museums – although I don’t do it that much now. I have painter friends who share studios with other artists – they can work in the company of others – I wish I could do that all the time. I couldn’t, though; I am very easily distracted and irritated by little noises and movements.

And the best?

When I manage to say exactly what I mean, or when I write something that surprises me in its precision and beauty. Then I know I’m inspired. I also love sharing my work with other people and not holding onto it for too long.

Tell us about what kind of response you get from readers, editors, etc?

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