Meet NUNUM's Summer 2020 Contributor: karol lagodzki

NUNUM

Blending Flash Fiction & Art

Interview with Karol Lagodzki

Karol Lagodzki's How to Feed a Family of Three on a Million Polish Zlotych Per Month in 1990 pitched a direction into NUNUM's Summer 2020 issue that sent everyone here off into helpful reflections about where we came from and where we're headed.

Karol was kind enough to give us a little of his time recently and yes he got the same first question that everyone gets ... so all together now - Karol what was the first book you remember reading all by yourself? 

 Karol Lagodzki

I vividly remember reading adventure novels by Alfred Szklarski,

in Polish, of course. They weren’t very good but offered an escape.

That question has never failed to introduce me to a new writer, and now you have done it again - thank you for that Karol. Let's get a little more recent, what is the last book you read that made you say, 'Damn, that was a good book.'

As soon as I single out one book, I will have hurt the feelings of all the others.

How to Feed a Family of Three on a Million Polish Zlotych Per Month in 1990
words by Karol Lagodzki

Lee Durkee’s The Last Taxi Driver is the most recent. 

How to Feed a Family of Three on a Million Polish Zlotych Per Month in 1990 
words by Karol Lagodzki

Both poignant and funny.

And you've done it again, one more writer to add to the reading list. I'm not sure about you Karol but I always find myself reaching for something different if I know it is holiday reading time. Do you have any go-to writers when you need something to read on holiday?

On vacation, I tend to reach for fantasy and science fiction. 

Anything N.K. Jemisin has written blows my mind.

She has redefined the genre.

​Well there is something that we have in common then, no problem at all for me to reach for some science fiction when holiday times roll around. What about your own writing Karol, what writers or books influenced your decision to become to a writer?
​
I have wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember. But I didn’t know I would be one until college, when Leo Luke Marcello, a poet and teacher, encouraged me to explore this strange new language.

How to Feed a Family of Three on a Million Polish Zlotych Per Month in 1990 
words by Karol Lagodzki

Because of his death, he will never know how grateful I am.

How to Feed a Family of Three on a Million Polish Zlotych Per Month in 1990 
words by Karol Lagodzki

A special teacher, I'm happy to hear you were fortunate enough to run across one during your studies. I know that personally I can't imagine what my life would've been like without the guidance and inspiration of my teachers. So staying with this theme a little longer Karol, are there any contemporary writers you admire?

When I grow up, I want to write like Anthony Marra.

Haha, nice line. What about craft books Karol, do you have a favorite?

There are a number of craft books and essays I credit with helping me improve. The foremost is the tiny piece by Bryan Furuness, “Notes on Narrative” (https://fictionwritersreview.com/shoptalk/notes-on-narrative/). Others include: Tin House’s The Writer’s Notebook (both parts), Writing Fiction by Janet Burroway, The Writer’s Field Guide to the Craft of Fiction by Michael Noll, and Meander, Spiral, Explode by Jane Alison. 

Nice list, the Burroway one I am familiar with but the rest are new so thank you. So in reference to all that learning, is there a writer who has influenced your current writing style?

How to Feed a Family of Three on a Million Polish Zlotych Per Month in 1990 
words by Karol Lagodzki

I’ve been told I show echoes of Joseph Conrad and Terry Pratchett. 

How to Feed a Family of Three on a Million Polish Zlotych Per Month in 1990 
words by Karol Lagodzki

Weird. I don’t know what to think about that.​

What about when you do think about something, pen, pencil or phone, which one do you reach for when you need to write something down?
​
I use a notebook but am not good at carrying it with me. I use my phone when I don’t have a pen and paper.

Let's change directions here Karol, as you know sending your work out to journals is a part of the writing life, do you have any advice for people who are maybe just starting to do this?

I will repeat what everyone else has said.

It will probably sound trite. Two things: one, make sure your work is as good as you can make it, but don’t wait for perfection; two, be a literary citizen and read the journals before submitting.

You know, I think you might be the first person to mention reading journals to answer that question. Well said. Write what you know, you've heard it said of course - what are your thoughts on it?

​

How to Feed a Family of Three on a Million Polish Zlotych Per Month in 1990 
words by Karol Lagodzki

We can’t write what we don’t know.

How to Feed a Family of Three on a Million Polish Zlotych Per Month in 1990 
words by Karol Lagodzki

But a writer’s knowledge is a found object, gathered through observation and imagination, proven with emotion rather than fact. If there is an emotional truth in our stories, the readers will feel it and put themselves in our hands. If the emotion doesn’t ring true, then we have missed the mark and must learn more.

For you Karol, what is the role of literature in a world defined by rapid social change and conflict?​

I think Neil Gaiman was right when he called a book “a little empathy machine.” Our culture and beliefs consist of the stories and myths we tell ourselves. If we build characters compelling enough that they elicit empathy, a real desire for understanding, in readers unlike them, we will have healed the empathy deficiency just a drop, and will have made a positive difference. And, of course, when not writing, go to marches and demonstrations, organize, and vote.

And finally Karol, where do you land in the debate about whether creative writing can be taught?
I think that the only prerequisite is imagination. If you have that, you can learn and improve the craft.

A wonderful idea to end this on, thank you Karol.

​Karol Lagodzki left Poland at twenty and has called the United States home for decades. His non-writing careers have ranged from fixing stucco while dangling from roofs in Paris to sorting through human cadaver heads in Jacksonville. His short stories have appeared in The Ryder Magazine, Streetlight Magazine and Tishman Review. He now lives in an Indiana ravine with his family and a large dog. Find him at klagodzki.com.  

 Karol Lagodzki

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