Interview with ​Ann Calandro

Meet NUNUM's Contributor: Ann Calandro

6/9/2024

NUNUM

Blending Flash Fiction & Art

Interview with Ann Calandro

Ann kindly lent us some of the pieces from her new work 'The New Season' for our Spring 2024 issue. In Ann's own words, these pieces "refer to the upcoming September to June concert, ballet, opera, and museum exhibit season in New York City, where I grew up but no longer live. I'm always happy to read about the upcoming events and to choose a few to attend."

What was the first book you ever read all by yourself?

The first book I read by myself was in first grade, and it was about two children, Dick and Jane, and their dog, Spot.

What was the last book you read that made you say damn, that was a good book?

The last book I read that I loved was a few days ago, and it was the novel Leaving, by Roxana Robinson.

Which artists have influenced your current artistic direction?

I have been influenced by many artists and also by writers and musicians, including artists Henri Rosseau, Henri Matisse, Romare Bearden, Della Wells, Eric Fischl, Brian Kershisnik, Pierre Bonnard, Jacob Lawrence, and more; writers Alice Hoffman, Dara Horn, Roxana Robinson, Alice Adams, Anita Brookner, Laurie Colwin, and more; and musicians Frederic Chopin, Robert Schumman, Johannes Brahms, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins, Joan Baez, and more.

What advice would you give someone just starting to send their work to journals?

Keep sending work out. Don’t get discouraged for too long. Keep trying.

Why did you pick collage as your primary medium?

I was always trying to find the medium I liked best, and I could never choose one, and then I realized collage allows me to combine many media in many ways.

Do you wish you had gone to art school?

Yes, I sometimes do wish that. I applied to Cooper Union but did not get in. I ended up majoring in English and working as a writer and editor for many years, which has probably helped me create collages by allowing me to pair words with images. I sometimes wish I knew more about things like perspective and how to use oil paints, but I’m finally OK with my “outsider art” style. It’s one of my main hobbies, the other ones being music, gardening, and cooking/baking.

What do you plan to work on next?

I’m going to try to teach myself cartooning. I keep thinking of captions, so maybe if I also learn how to draw cartoons, I can try to submit my cartoons somewhere.

Artist's Statement

I try to express visually what is imaginary through collages of paper, colored pencil, marker, pastel, paint, chalk, and my photographs. My artwork is generally realistic and figurative, not abstract, but there’s usually something askew about it. I call my art style enchanted realism, located at the intersection of reality, dreams, wishes, and memories. My artwork has been exhibited in juried shows and published in literary journals. Shanti Arts published my three illustrated children's books. I've been influenced by Henri Rousseau and Andre Kertesz, who set out to reproduce the world photographically but instead created a world of enchantment, and by many other visual artists, writers, and musicians.

Ann Calandro is a writer, collage artist, and classical piano student. Her writing is published or forthcoming in The Vincent Brothers Review, Lit Camp, The Fabulist, The Plentitudes, and other journals. Duck Lake Books published her poetry chapbook in 2020. Calandro’s artwork has been exhibited and is published or forthcoming in The Cimarron Review, Nunum, Zoetic Press, Mud Season Review, and other journals. Shanti Press published three children’s books she wrote and illustrated. See artwork at ann-calandro.pixels.com.