Five Questions with Marie Gethins

Kirby Johnson
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NANO Fiction: Your story, “Mammoth Task,” is featured in the latest issue of NANO Fiction, 8.2, and it’s one of the more humorous, playful pieces in the issue. Can you tell us a bit about your inspiration for the piece?

Me and wall 0215Marie Gethins: With mammoth carcasses emerging from the permafrost in Siberia and elsewhere, various labs have expressed interest in cloning the animals–either from a frozen cell or sequenced genome. So that part of the story is rooted in truth. Why do we need a cloned mammoth? I’d like to hope that this research has altruistic motivations, the quest for knowledge, etc. but what if a successful lab’s scientific funding came from a questionable source? I’ve seen some strange animals on various menus and even in dog food, animals I would have assumed were protected. So a market for mammoth steaks may not be that farfetched.

NF: How does humor play a part in your writing process? Or does it at all?

MG: Good question. Humor is very subjective, so it is a risk. A wise person told me that humor never wins competitions. While I cannot speak for everyone, it certainly has been my experience. So while I veer into dark humor and I enjoy writing it, I do try to rein in my impulses. For me, it’s a double pleasure when a humorous piece finds a home.

NF: What, for you, makes for a successful flash piece?

MG: No matter how brief, the flash contains a complete story. A successful flash piece is easily read, but pushes the reader to mull over what is not on the page, the subtext. The first line grabs you with information and intrigue. Once finished, there’s a lingering meaning or emotional resonance. Excellent, and often surprising, use of language is important as well. Every word matters in flash. While the form lends itself to twist endings, I think you have to work hard to earn them.

NF:  Who are the writers (flash fiction or otherwise) that you most admire, and what qualities drew you to their work?

MG: I really enjoy Tania Hershman’s flash–astute societal observations that often involve science or technology. David Gaffney has great insightful pieces on relationships. Stuart Dybek is a master of the unsaid. Dan Rhodes and Etgar Keret for quirky humor. Nuala Ní Chonchúir (aka Nuala O’Connor) does a lot of wonderful art inspired work in flash, short stories and poetry. In that same area, one of my favourite flash pieces from last year was Alex Barclay’s Determination, inspired by Francis Danby’s painting Opening of the Sixth Seal.

In slightly longer stories I am a huge fan of Amy Hempel, Tobias Wolff and David Means – so much depth in very concise prose. George Saunders also for humor and perceptiveness. Kirtsy Logan’s gorgeous short stories fall into magic realism–beautiful use of language, very visual. I’m in awe of Kevin Barry’s character building, fluid language and dark humor. He’s also an incredible reader.

NF: What are you working on now?

MG: I’m in the middle of my Master of Studies in Creative Writing at Oxford, so I’m working on ode parodies at the moment for an assignment. It’s a very strange thing for me to try poetry, but a great way to really hone verbal construction. I’m working on a modern fairy tale flash inspired by a friend’s painting promised for March. Also I’m plotting a long short story, about 7,000 words, which promises to be a real challenge!

Marie Gethins’s work has featured in the 2014 National Flash Fiction Day Anthology, Flash: The International Short-Short Story Magazine, Litro, The Incubator, Control Literary Magazine, Word Bohemia, Vintage Script, Circa, The Lamp, and Firewords Quarterly. She won or placed in the contests at: Tethered by Letters, Dromineer Literary Festival, The New Writer Microfiction, Prick of the Spindle, and 99fiction.net. Marie is a Pushcart and Best Short Fictions Nominee. She lives in Cork, Ireland and is working on her Master of Studies in Creative Writing at the University of Oxford.