Magie Dominic

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a Newfoundland writer and artist, have long been active in the peace movement. My essays and poetry have been published in over fifty anthologies and journals in Canada, the United States, Italy, and India. My artwork has been exhibited in Toronto and New York, including a solo exhibition in New York and a presentation at the United Nations.

I am one of the founding members of the Off-Off-Broadway theatre movement in New york in the 1960’s, in particular Caffe Cino and La Mama. I curated “Caffe Cino – History of Off-Off Broadway” at Lincoln Centre in 1985 and donated papers, photographs and OOB memorabilia to the NYPL’ s Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center in 2011, establishing The Magie Dominic Caffé Cino Archives.

I have written two books, THE QUEEN OF PEACE ROOM and STREET ANGEL and co-authored “H.M. Koutoukas, 1937-2010” .

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
STREET ANGEL is my newest book and is the the sequel to my first book, THE QUEEN OF PEACE ROOM which was shortlisted for the Canadian Women’s Studies Award, ForeWord magazine’s Book of the Year Award, and the Judy Grahn Award.

Flannery O’Connor said “Anybody who has survived his childhood has enough information about life to last him the rest of his days.”

My first memoir, THE QUEEN OF PEACE ROOM, was grounded in the 1990’s. I wanted to expand on that.

I grew up in Newfoundland and I wanted to write about the Newfoundland that I saw in the 1950’s, the people in small villages, the abusive nuns who got away with inflicting terrible damage on the children in their care, and I wanted to write about the people who were around me at that time. I wanted to write about the beauty of the island of Newfoundland.

STREET ANGEL opens to the voice of an eleven-year-old Dominic. She’s growing up in Newfoundland. Her mother suffers from terrifying nighttime hallucinations. Her father’s business is about to collapse. She layers the world she hears on radio and television onto her family, speaking in paratactic prose with a point-blank delivery. She finds relief only in the glamour of Hollywood films and the majesty of Newfoundland’s wilderness.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think so. I drink a lot of tea but that may not be unusual. I often write while standing.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Margaret Atwood, Mary Oliver, Frank McCourt, Rumi, many others.

What are you working on now?
I’m thinking now about a time between 1960 – 1969. I touch on those years in Street Angel and The Queen of Peace Room but I’d like to expand on the dichotomy.

I write for a wonderful website called 2paragraphs.com and the pieces are exactly that – two paragraphs each. Two of my recent entries are titled – “The Caffe Cino: Lanford Wilson, Bette Midler and Everyone in Between” and “When The Bowery Was Skid Row”. Those essays

give a flavor of my next book.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Talking with people – in person, on the radio, at readings and online. And my website, magiedominic.blogspot.com

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice is to first get the manuscript as tight as possible. If it’s an especially long piece I’d ask two or three friends to read the complete manuscript and to be extremely honest with input. You want honest, constructive advice. Fine tune what they say and incorporate what seems applicable. The point is to make the manuscript as tight and seamless as possible before submitting it. And make sure the manuscript is formatted properly. There are guides to manuscript formatting available on line.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Don’t talk about it – do it.” A friend told me that in the 1960’s and I’ve never forgotten it.

and

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

― Maya Angelou

What are you reading now?
I’ve just finished “Deep Down Dark” by Héctor Tobar and still digesting it.

What’s next for you as a writer?
To start work on book three, about the 1960’s.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
“Angela’s Ashes”; a very large atlas; “Street Angel and The Queen of Peace Room” ; something by both Margaret Atwood and Mary Oliver. And since many writers , when asked this question, say they’d take the Bible, I probably should take that too.

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