And the bounty goes to... Longshot!

437 Notes

And the bounty goes to…

We are delighted to announce that the Longshot editors have selected Aholaah Arzah, author of Ring Cycle, to receive our $2000 feature fee. As Mat put it, when the three of us read this story together in a Gakwer conference room last weekend, we let out a collective gasp. We love the multi-layered interpretation of “debt” and admire the beautiful use of language. Congratulations, Aholaah!

Since you all may be curious to know a little bit more about Aholaah, here’s a short Q&A…[SPOILER ALERT! If you don’t want us to ruin the ending, go read the story first.]

LS: Tell us a little about yourself…where do you live? What do you do for a living?

AA: I live as nearly surrounded by water as possible without actually being on an island…Port Townsend is located at the tip of the Quimper Peninsula in the Puget Sound; a beautiful small town with a vibrant arts community…I work with individuals with special needs as an independent living aid.

LS: How long have you been writing?

AA: I have written intermittently along with making visual art and raising children for many years. I recently completed my MFA in Creative Writing and am focused on writing.

LS: Where have you been published before?

AA: Over the years, I have been published in a number of small literary magazines: Seattle Voice, Poets West, Brussels Sprout, Clay Drum, Chrysanthemum, among others…recently; the Pitkin Review, elimae and upcoming in Short, Fast and Deadly.

LS: It appears your primary writing vein is poetry. What prompted you to write a piece like this one?

AA: My “poetry” of the last two years has been “hybrid” or prose-like and most recently I been writing more intentionally in a prose form although I rarely feel a need to distinguish between these forms.

LS: How did you hear about Longshot?

AA: A fellow Goddardite (graduate of Goddard College) posted a link on facebook.

LS: What was your process for writing the piece? Did the theme trigger the idea or did you already want to write about it and the theme fit?

AA: The theme triggered a recognition…I had had the idea to write something about the irony of the ring and my relationship with my father and it personified a particular kind of “debt” that was the only debt I really wanted to write about at the moment…

LS: When did you begin writing the piece?

AA: Sometime during the morning before the deadline…

LS: Will you show this story to anyone else in your family?

AA: Yes.

LS: Other than your own, what’s your favorite story in the Debt issue of the magazine?

AA: I haven’t had the chance to read everything yet but “Appraisal” struck a chord…home “ownership” is an interesting delusion…

LS: Did you really pawn the ring? If so did you ever get it back?

AA: Yes, I really pawned the ring and no, I never wanted to see it again.

LS: And finally, are you going to use this money to pay off any debts?

AA: Oh, yeah…