Interview with Shinjini Dey

Meet NUNUM's Contributor: Shinjini Dey

6/7/2021

NUNUM

Blending Flash Fiction & Art

Interview with Shinjini Dey

I need to start with your story Shinjini, can you talk a little about the festival described in Bhailo?

I refer here to both Tihar and Diwali. While Diwali is a mainstream Hindu festival, Tihar is celebrated in Nepal or among the Nepali community in India; 'Bhailo', the song, is sung by unmarried women as part of the ritual(s). The two festivals are celebrated around the same time, but the mythologies and the perspective vary. It is this difference that I write about in the story, where the narrator celebrates the hegemonic festival of light and power, Diwali.

What was the first book you remember picking and reading by yourself?

I remember reading cartons and labels and packaging before I read any books. I read an Enid Blyton collection as a five-year-old, then nothing of note for years until I was skipping class. I recall picking up the Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo and reading it over a few days in our decrepit school library.

Labels, I love it. What about more recently, what was the last book you read that made you say damn that was a good book?

The last few months have had its share of good books, but How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu stands out. I was surprised. It was terribly ingenious, technically dense and still, so poetic and full of sorrow.

Ah, nice, one more for the reading list. What about when you are on holiday, any go-to writers when you need something to read?

I rarely read on holiday and I rarely go on long-ish holidays. When I do read, it’s usually long articles on The Caravan, The Point or short stories in SFF magazines.

What about your influences, any writers or books in particular that influenced your decision to become a writer?

I have always worried about being too obtuse, too pretentious, too secretive in my prose. The subaltern studies scholar, Gayatri Spivak, and the Canadian writer, Kuzhali Manickavel shook me out of those fears; albeit, very slowly.

Always nice to find just what you need. Are there any contemporary writers out there you admire?

I’m going to take this occasion to name Anne Boyer, Wendy Trevino, and Renee Gladman for the awe I feel when reading their sentences.

Lets change topics a touch here and talk about craft, is there a writing craft book that you would recommend to new writers?

I am a new writer(!) but I've always been moved by Jeff Vandermeer’s Wonderbook. I would also recommend Matt Bell’s newsletter of Writing Exercises.

I haven't had a chance yet to look into his craft book but thank you for the reminder. Sorry to flip the topic again, but, why write flash fiction?

I’ve always been moved by form, and flash fiction appeals to me because it can hold so many languages, worlds, ideas, movements within in a small container. I like containers.

Well said. What advice would you give someone who is just starting to send their work out to journals?

Submit to and read small literary magazines and journals.

Favourite punctuation to use?

I love the em dash more than the comma.

Who do you write for and why?

I write for my friends in the hope that they can, for a little while, inhabit a more utopian world. I write to find leisure and loopholes. I write to inhabit the palpable discomfort of the social and political without distracting myself. Often, I write in lieu of crying.

Shinjini Dey (she/her) can often be found grumbling and muttering

Shinjini Dey

about technology and labour, usually from under a too-large blanket. She works as a freelance writer and editor. Find her work at The Swaddle, Bloodknife Magazine and Ancillary Review of Books or at @shinjini_dey. She currently lives in Hyderabad, India.

You can keep up with her on Twitter & at her website.