We're delighted to welcome Ian Brennan to the blog today. Ian is the author of Sister Maple Syrup Eyes, not to mention a Grammy-award winning music producer! Check out his interview responses below and then read on for more information about his work and his book.
Interview with Ian Brennan
Recent work
Tell us about your most recent completed projectSister Maple Syrup Eyes is a book about recovery. It was inspired by own personal experience coping with the aftermath of the rape of my "first love". The first rough draft was written in 1990 and it has been relentlessly revised and honed down since, to just over 20,000 words. In many ways, it sort of unintentionally anticipated flash novels.
What are you working on now/next?My fourth book (a non-fiction work on inequity in media, How Music Dies (or Lives): Field-recording and the battle for democracy in the arts, is being published in February 2015. And I'm very exited by an upcoming, solo debut record from Bob Forrest "Survival Songs", which also deals with recovery.
Which is your favourite piece of work so far? Why?It is hard to choose from the many records I've produced by other artists, but i think the forthcoming collaboration between Tuvan throat singer, Sainkho Namtchlak and the rhythm section of Touareg legends, Tinariwen, it really sounds unlike anything else out there. And that is a rare accomplishment in these over-documented times.
Favourites
Favourite author?So hard to say
Favourite book?Whatever i am reading at any moment.
Favourite film?Purple Rose of Cairo, The Graduate
Favourite video game?
I HATE video games
Tea Leave Salad
Favourite drink?Roasted green tea
Miscelleanous
Who inspires you?Those who live independent lives with respect for others and no intention of harm. (That description fits the majority of canines on the planet, by the way.)
What motivates you?Art has the ability to anonymously inspire empathy. In the presence of empathy, deliberate violence cannot arise from a person. Beauty is something that we can never really overdose on, so any one who purely strives to contribute to the collective good without desiring reward(s) or recognition, gives me hope.
How do you define creativity?Art and creativity are linked but separate. All people are creative, but few are often artistic. To create something for its own intrinsic sake and without concern for its reception is a high level of artistry that few of us ever reach, and one that is even harder to sustain.
Anything else?A wise, old artist once told me "every new author thinks that their own life is more interesting than it is". An even wiser senior editor commented that "every author thinks that their book is the next Moby Dick." Decades of rejection and indifference have dissuaded me of such notions.
These trainings are based on more than fifteen years experience laboring as a mental health specialist in locked, acute-psychiatric settings, the job rated as 'the most dangerous' in the state of California.
About Sister Maple Syrup Eyes
