FEATURED OA-er OF THE MONTH

THE OXFORD AMERICAN’s own Matt Baker is a man of many talents, including but not limited to Second City–trained comedian and licensed forklift operator. Matt has been with THE OA for four years, first as its circulation director and now as associate publisher. Unbeknownst to those around him—including, until recently, many of his colleagues—his casual, easygoing demeanor belies his skill as a serious fiction writer. His short stories have been published in SAINT ANN'S REVIEW, CIMARRON REVIEW, MAIN STREET RAG, SANTA CLARA REVIEW, and elsewhere, while his essays and book reviews have appeared in the Kansas City STAR, the Philadelphia INQUIRER, and THE OA. Matt’s first novel, DRAG THE DARKNESS DOWN, was published this summer.

THE OXFORD AMERICAN: How long have you been writing?

MATT BAKER: I’ve been writing seriously for about six years.

THE OA: What is the hardest part about writing? The easiest?

MB: The easiest part is the writing itself. It’s not very difficult for me to sit down and start writing, whether it’s something new or an existing project. The hardest part is the editing and revising, making tough decisions about what stays, what goes, what elements to build upon, which ones to minimize, etc.

THE OA: You grew up in the Midwest but went to college at the University of Arkansas, and your writing is influenced by such Arkansas writers as Charles Portis, Donald Harington, and Donald (Skip) Hays. To what extent do you consider yourself a “Southern writer”?

MB: I’m not a Southern writer. I don’t have any regional affiliations. You are correct to point out the influence of Arkansas writers. I’d also add these Arkansas writers to that list: Kevin Brockmeier, Jack Butler, Ellen Gilchrist, Miller Williams, Jo McDougall, C.D. Wright, Trenton Lee Stewart, Greg Brownderville, Grif Stockley, James Whitehead, William Harrison, Speer Morgan, and on and on.

THE OA: How long had you been working on this novel? How do you balance your writing career with a full-time publishing job?

MB: I wrote the first draft in two or three months. Then I spent about seven or eight months revising. I’d bring the manuscript to work with me and during my lunch break, I’d go up to the second floor of Torreyson library [on the University of Central Arkansas campus] and work on it up there. I don’t find it very difficult to have a full-time job and write. And that may be because I don’t have any children or a very busy social schedule, so that frees up most evenings and weekends to work.

THE OA: Where did you get the idea for the Bridget/Birdshit character's name in DRAG THE DARKNESS DOWN?

MB: I don’t think it’s unusual for small children to mispronounce names, even their own. So after I decided to name this character Bridget, I thought, how would a three year-old mispronounce Bridget?—and it occurred to me that it’d be “Birdshit.” And it just seemed like a great nickname that would stay with someone throughout her life.

The narrator’s name, Odom Shiloh, I stole from two signs. There’s an exit off I-40 I used to take and when you came off the exit there were two large signs advertising Odom Manufactured Homes and another business Shiloh-something. I don’t recall the exact names, but one day I looked up and I thought, what a great name, Odom Shiloh.

THE OA: Family is a major theme in DTDD—the people we’re related to, the people we THINK we’re related to, and those friends we treat as if they were family (not to mention tangled, dark, and even tragic family histories). Is this a theme you revisit in your writing? What other themes and topics are you most interested in exploring through your fiction?

MB: I’ve never thought much about the theme of family, but yes, now that you point it out, I think that’s very true. Family isn’t always blood relatives; it’s a network of supportive people.

I’m fascinated by beliefs. This is probably an area that I will continue to explore—why people believe what they do, what they choose to believe, what effect this has on their life and the lives of those close to them.  I’m not interested in spiritual beliefs but rather earthly ones.

I’m also very interested in the way we construct the world in our own minds versus the “reality”— what it is for everybody else. I think that division, that blurry line, is so vital to our human consciousness—reconciling those two worlds. So as a result, it’s a worthwhile challenge to creatively investigate this area.

THE OA: Does all of your writing take place (at least partially) in Arkansas? What are your thoughts on writing about a familiar landscape vs. one that is unfamiliar to you?

MB: The primary locations for my stories are always in places I’ve either lived or spent a significant amount of time in. I don’t think I could write a convincing story or novel set in, say, Vermont. I’m sure I could research Vermont, even take a trip up there, but I doubt it’d make much sense to go through the trouble unless I had a very important reason to do so. And also, I’d be terrified that a Vermont native would pick up on subtle clues that I knew nothing about Vermont and had utterly failed at my portrayal. This may be in fact a worthless worry to have and I could very well fool native Vermonters, but why bother when I can place a story somewhere more familiar and comfortable?

THE OA: Frothmouth, Odom Shiloh’s hometown, is situated in a real geographical location in East-Central Arkansas, but it is a fictional town. Is this your version of Donald Harington’s fictional Ozark community of Staymore? Have you used Frothmouth in previous stories, and do you plan to set other work here?

MB: I first used the town of Frothmouth, Arkansas, in a short story, “That’s Incredible!” that appeared in MAIN STREET RAG. But the town and characters in that story are different from DTDD.  I have not set any other stories in Frothmouth. I do have ideas of writing additional novels using some of the same characters in DTDD. We’ll see if it turns into my version of Staymore.

THE OA: Your book has a dramatic mix of humor and violence. Could you discuss your decision to focus your book around these opposing elements? Also, the darkness that’s revealed at the end of the book casts everything up until that point (i.e. the road trip, which is definitely comic, if somewhat darkly so) in a different light. How intentional was that?

MB: I think the comic voice used in the book is natural for me. It’s probably the dominant voice I write in— if that makes sense. And when I say “comic voice,” I’m not suggesting writing that is fall-down funny, but more as an attitude and way of looking at the world.

For me, the darker and violent elements are not necessarily extraordinary. You gather up six or seven characters and put them in emotional and stressful situations, someone will express himself violently. I don’t think that’s unusual.

Everything that’s revealed at the end is intentional. Without giving away too much, it probably ties into my previous answer about beliefs, what we choose to believe, and why.

THE OA: Is your short fiction mostly dark, mostly humorous, or a mix of the two?

MB: I’d say mostly humorous. I’ve never written anything that was deliberately or overtly dark from beginning to end. There’s sometimes a mix of the two. And probably those stories are my strongest, the ones that mix the comic with the tragic.

THE OA: What are you working on now, and in what current or upcoming publications can we find more of your work?

MB: I have two short stories forthcoming: one in TAMPA REVIEW and one in TEXAS REVIEW. I’m revising two novels and trying to finish two more.

THE OA: What is your favorite aspect of working at THE OA?

MB: The margarita machine in the business office and the unlimited number of bathroom breaks.

The OA 10: Questions we ask of every interviewee.

1. What superstitions do you have? The last superstition I had was that I had to have a number eight on my soccer jersey. I thought eight represented infinity (if you lay it sideways), never-ending energy, and would give me a spooky advantage over my opponents. Then I injured my knee, and I realized that all the powerful and mysterious forces in the universe are on the other team.
 
2. What would you like to change about yourself?  Sometimes I wish I was more tolerant of large crowds; I’d be more malleable in formal social situations. I wish I could care about the subtle differences between wines, or why one restaurant’s ambiance kicks another restaurant ambiance’s ass. Little things like that.
 
3. What are you still trying to accomplish in your professional career? I’d like to finish this novel about the new Jesus—Norbert Fingersol is his name—who is already on earth, has no idea he’s the messiah and has yet to discover his true life mission, which is to go to Lebanon, Kansas, and find a buried spaceship.
 
4. What is your hidden talent? I can read lips.  
 
5. What subject causes you to rant? TV commercials, especially those for beer and drugs.
 
6. What is the biggest mistake you ever made in your professional life? Using profanity in the workplace.
 
7. What is one thing that you used to dislike but that you now like? The Winter Olympics.
 
8. What profoundly underrated book, album, or movie would you like to champion for us? HOW TO TALK DIRTY AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE by Lenny Bruce.
 
9. What is your favorite line from a song? “If you miss the train I’m on, then you will know that I am gone.”
 
10. What was your favorite childhood toy? A Star Wars X-Wing Fighter.

Author photograph by Cassandra Gambill.