Each week we will be connecting with our contributors showing where they have been, where they are now, and what’s up for the future.
Name: Ashley Inguanta
Title of Piece published in Sweet:
7 Ways of Unfolding and Dedication: To The One I Will Marry
Issue: 6.2 and 8.2
Photo by Delila Smalley
Find her:
You can find Ashley in the Florida wilderness, on her friend’s farm teaching her daughter how to talk to horses. You can find out more about Ashley on her website www.ashleyinguanta.net or check out her art store Echo and Dime.
What are some major accomplishments you have had since your Sweet publication?
I published a hardcover art and poetry collection, For the Woman Alone, with Ampersand Books in 2014. In 2016, Ampersand published my first full-length collection of poetry, Bomb. I’ve also had the honor of working on my newest manuscript at Sundress Academy for the Arts.
Bomb, Ampersand Books, 2016
For the Woman Alone, Ampersand Books, 2014
The Way Home, Dancing Girl Press, 2013
Can you tell us about a current/ongoing project that you’re excited about?
For quite some time now I have been working on The Flower, a full-length collection of linked writings that explore time travel, the relationship between language and experience, and a house that changes with death. I am hoping this book will be out in 2019, but I am not in a rush.
Who is your favorite author?
Francesca Lia Block
What is your favorite poem/essay/book?
Echo by Francesca Lia Block will always be very important to me.
What inspires you to write?
Windows. I love windows–metaphorical and physical. I’m not sure how to answer this question because it is so personal. Metaphorical windows as in perspectives, as in leaving and entering worlds, inspire me. Physical windows are also fascinating to me. In Florida there are lots of homes from the ’50s with very small windows, but then you have homes from the ’20s with rooms that are all windows. In one of my classrooms two walls are basically all windows. We keep the shades open, and when it rains, the mood changes in the room, and it may shift their writing. That shift–whether it’s large or subtle, and that connection to windows–inspires me.
What is your favorite sweet?
The last time you asked, it was chocolate cake. But now that the holidays are approaching, I have to say my favorite sweet is pumpkin pie.
Pumpkin Pie always reminds me of my grandmother, so it’s one of my favorites. It just feels like home.
Thank you, Ashley, for taking the time to reconnect with us. We look forward to seeing more of your work in the future!