Invasive Thoughts
Questionnaire for Nicole Moore,
Literary Editor:
What is/are your fondest memory(ies) of the first year of creating Invasive Thoughts?
Some of my fondest memories are linked to the press pass events we have been able to attend. Two of the most exciting for me were the Hillary Clinton rally and the Pieta Brown/Ani DiFranco concert. At the Hillary Clinton rally, Heather Croxton and I, and two site contributors, stood on the bleachers with several top national broadcast stations (CNN, MSNBC, etc.) covering Mrs. Clinton's speech. I have to say that this may have been one of the most exhilarating experiences because the crowd was absolutely frantic with excitement and my heart was about to explode out of my chest with it, too! The four of us were huddled on the edge of one of the bleachers, me transcribing, the others taking photographs. And as I looked behind me I saw an entire row of laptop computers with wires all jumbled together and crossing one another in a frenzy of electrical communication with some 15 newspaper reporters doing exactly the same as me.
The Pieta Brown/Ani DiFranco concert was a great experience, as well. It was very last minute. Brooke Palmer called DiFranco's press agent and was able to get the passes just hours before her show. As the Panasonic Lumix is kaput, we hurried to meet Brooke's father, the Editor for the Business section of the Kansas City Star, and he let us use his mega-powerful Canon for the event. I couldn't help but smile when Eric Palmer indicated that 500 pictures should be enough (I can go through 500 pics in the flash of an eye, especially at a concert!); and I could have gone through more! So with a little needed direction on high-tech camera use, we drove on to Lawrence, Kansas to Liberty Hall. After assuring a group of hardcore girl fans at the front that I would definitely not block their view, they let me through and I set myself up in the most perfect spot: wedged behind the large floor speakers and the stage. In my little corner, I was unobstructed and un-obstructing; and I had an absolutely perfect view of Ani and the drummer Allison Miller, and off to the right just a little, the bass player and vibraphonist/percusionist. We were allowed to photograph for the first three songs only, but the pics I got look as though an entire concert had taken place in the span of three songs! The emotion, the charisma, the dynamic expressions of Ani were fabulous! And the crowd was packed.
What have you learned from your first year of making Invasive Thoughts? How have you changed?
I have learned that it takes a lot of time and a very sincere willingness to produce a product with integrity and strength; I have learned that this forum is a door to much possibility; and that possibility will only be as strong or as possible as we are creative enough to envision it. The power is in our hands to make this a respected online forum. The responsibility is ours to seek out fellow artists, writers, musicians, philosophers, special trade virtuosos, and any other serious thinkers in order to broaden our readership, provide greater perspective, and help to foster a creative community.
How has your vision for Invasive Thoughts grown or changed during the first year?
My vision has only strengthened; my confidence in the site and in the possibilities of this endeavor continue to developed steadily. Mainly, changes in vision have occurred in respect to presentation techniques. As we move forward, we better understand how to present information to our readers. While we are still somewhat wordy in our articles and commentary, we are beginning to look at shorter and more efficient ways of relaying information for the online format. We are learning about the differences in presentation between hardcopy publications and online publications. For example, while the colorful text creates vibrant print copies, it can be difficult for online readers. While people are often willing to read an entire hardcopy article, most online readers want information immediately and in an efficient format. These are the aspects in vision that we are adapting.
Have there been any funny or embarrassing moments during any of your interviews for IT? Explain.
Funny, no. Embarrassing, a bit, yes. Scary, heck yes! When the award-winning poet and Virginia Tech professor Nikki Giovanni came to Trinity University's Laurie Auditorium, the university set up a pre-lecture discussion with Giovanni for the media. With all types of preconceptions of what a pre-media discussion would entail (a multitude of cameras, flashes, and reporters) , I found myself instead in a very awkward situation. I had assumed the room would be packed, and so when I entered to find myself completely alone in a small florescent-lit room awaiting Giovanni, I was scared to death! I think of myself as a better listener than an interviewer, and I had assumed I would be able to quietly exist in the back of the room and listen to the discussion. But, as I was the only media person in the room just a few minutes prior to Giovanni's entrance, I was panicked. How horribly embarrassing and awkward it would be for me to carry an entire interview with such an esteemed writer by myself! And I was so poorly prepared. The lecture was a very last minute decision by our staff. We had just come back from our Las Vegas trip and had discovered that this exciting lecture event was planned. I was the only one who could attend the pre-lecture discussion; and unfortunately, I did not know very much about Giovanni, had not read any of her poetry, and was merely excited to get a chance to listen to her words. I quickly exited the room and called and texted several people. "What do I ask her!?" I exclaimed frantically into the phone. And so, with the very few questions I had prepared and a few added questions from a couple supporters, I re-entered the room to find that Giovanni was now present and thankfully, two or three other reporters were too. Giovanni told us many stories about her meeting with Rosa Parks and mentioned a book she had in the works, which just came out last week and was covered by NPR: Hip Hop Speaks to Children: A Celebration of Poetry with a Beat.
Who has been your most interesting or exciting interviewee/presenter/contributor during the first year of IT?
Some wonderful contributions have been those linked to Luminaria San Antonio and a turn-of-the-year poetry reading event, The Poet and The Poets. In both instances, we received submissions from several extremely talented writers and artists, making the spreads quite expressive.
What would you like for the future of Invasive Thoughts?
I am excited to see this as a long-term project that will integrate the direction that each of our individual lives will take and also intertwine the concepts and themes that we develop as a group. We are now expanding the coverage from San Antonio to Kansas City. But we have readers from around the country and even outside of the country. I hope that in the future we will be able to provide some hardcopy publications for our readers. And I hope that, as we grow in readership, we gain an even wider group of contributions from all over the world.
Any first year regrets?
Some wasted time spent in disagreement. Our site is run by three very creative women. Two of us can also be extremely, uh, how do you say, particular? One of us is pretty easy-going. I think that being friends and colleagues has demanded that we sometimes draw lines between the two to keep our goals in perspective. But, we are also all learning a lot about working in collaboration and integrating friendship and work ethics.
See "Strengths and Weaknesses, Hopes and Stressors" in this Anniversary issue, for further reflections among the three of us.
What compels you to keep going with Invasive Thoughts every month despite a lack of funding or time?
A belief in the need and importance of a literary and arts forum. The excitement that comes from producing a new great edition. The pride that I feel when my writing and art, and the writing and art of such talented contributors, is displayed.
