Women Who Write: Amanda Cartigiano

We are super excited to announce that Amanda Cartigiano will be a regular contributor here at Plume. Amanda is a writer and poet from New York, currently residing in New Mexico. She received her Bachelor’s in English from the University of New Mexico, and has just been accepted into the MA program in Rhetoric and Writing. When she’s not writing, she’s selling books at Barnes and Noble, and persuading you to get the membership. Her work has been published by Slutmouth and The Real Story. You can follow her on twitter: @amandaacarta and instagram: amandacarta92

Based on what we’ve read so far of Amanda’s work, we’re excited to see what she’ll be bringing to Plume. But first, we bring you an introduction.

PLUME:     When did you know you were a writer?

AC: I knew I was a writer when I was ten. I took my cousin’s 4th grade writing textbooks and completed some of the prompts at the end of each lesson or story. I was told to play outside, instead, with the rest of the kids, and my response was “Stop talking, I’m trying to write.”

PLUME:     Where do you get your ideas?

AC: Other books, people, through conversations, and experience. I find myself still stuck in the past, and I often write poetry based on previous trips to Brooklyn and casinos.

PLUME:     How supportive is your local community for writers?

AC: The community is flowing with writers! UNM’s MFA program will get together at Tortuga to read, there’s always an open mic in Albuquerque or Santa Fe, and let’s not forget Poetry & Beer hosted by Tractor Brewing!

PLUME:     We at Plume consider you a successful writer–How do you define “success” for a writer?  For yourself?

AC: Bringing the pen to the paper. There’s no level of success when it comes to writing. Whether there’s a poem that hasn’t been touched in months, or a novel published by HarperCollins, the success is the same.

Success for me comes from advancing to new ideas or projects. I stuck to poetry for a long time, eventually writing 14 pages, but with all the stories I build in my head, I had to give a shot at fiction.

PLUME:     Do you have a writing shero? A fellow woman writer from whom you get inspiration?

AC: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, especially in her book “Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions.” As an undergraduate at UNM, I took several Sociology courses on gender and feminism, and I wanted to connect feminism with literature.  I also just finished Natalie Goldberg’s “The True Secret of Writing” and her retreat experiences across Taos and Santa Fe exemplify determination, motivation, and creativity.

PLUME:     What are you currently working on?

AC: I still might add some poems to my collection, but right now I’m editing a combination of pop-culture feminist essays to create a bigger piece on third-wave feminism through television and music of the 1990s.

PLUME: Tell me 3 things that you keep on your desk

AC:

1. The original black Papermate pen.

     2. Laptop

     3. Ibuprofen