| a n d r e a . g r a n t
mm : Just tell us a little bit about yourself for starters...how old are you?
Andrea : I get asked how old I am 5-10 times a day. Literally so much that it began to feel invasive, and I stopped telling. Depending on whether I have make-up on or not, or a ponytail, I could be 18 or 25. It drives people crazy, and I have a lot of fun with it. I believe in quantum physics, and resist the idea of conforming to a linear idea of time. I don’t really think about it until people who are infuriated I won’t tell are grilling me. When people find out what I do, they immediately ask my age - if I am younger than they expect, it upsets them and they compare themselves, and sometimes there is a certain jealousy which I hate.
mm : Where are you from?
Andrea : I live in Vancouver currently, but I am from Vancouver Island, and my blood is part of that that land. It’s wonderful over there - time moves slower. There is a theory that the Island somehow drifted over from Britain ages ago, and that the ley lines produce magical undercurrents. I go back there to rebalance. The ocean is like my mother.
mm : Where did you grow up and where did you study...a lot of artists tell me that they graduated from life...did you study the arts in school?
Andrea : I did take college Creative Writing and English Literature classes at college. They really helped hone my editing technique. I had raw talent, but I needed to be whipped into shape and criticized, because I tended to throw in too many abstract images that didn’t mesh. College taught me to follow through on a single idea. My favorite writing teacher, Genni Gunn, is still a mentor, and even now I ask her advice. I almost went to UBC to get a writing degree, but at the last minute I felt sick to my stomach. I realized that I was happy with my style, and doing well with getting work published. I was terrified of becoming part of the mould, and developing that horrible, fake ‘creative writing’ voice. Also, I didn’t want to end up just being a teacher at the end of it. I made a conscious decision to preach my poetry to the masses and find a niche.
mm : When did this poetry conception thing all begin with you...was is a process that eventually morphed into poetry or did it stem from a series of artistic conceptions?
Andrea : I wrote my first poem at age 10, when my best friend and I weren’t getting along. It was kind of melodramatic, something about ‘a wall of ice has formed between us, and I don’t know how to melt it’. I wrote it on yellow paper, and wept every time I read it until we made up. I’ve always made little books and illustrated stories, and my mother saved them. They’re pretty funny. I was quite a dramatic child, and my vocabulary was very developed at a young age. I read a lot. I was very tormented, so it was a good release for me. During the horrible times in my life, poetry saved me. It’s exorcised many demons.
mm : What would you consider to be your inspiration when composing a piece…I mean, do you just write from feeling or is most of your works inspired from real-life experiences??
Andrea : Both. There is far more truth in their work than what writers pretend. I have always had a dramatic life. Writing is the only way I can completely express. I am quite detached - I often have the sense that I am watching a film in 3D, and that I’m not really part of the social events I attend. It might be because I’m planning to go home and write about it.
mm : Your thoughts on abstract art....what is your definition and can abstract be fused together with poetry??
Andrea : I love words and pictures combined in unusual ways. Visual imagery can make language more palatable, and help open up minds. I’m working on some Barbie art installation, and I’m just going to enjoy the process rather than worrying about being sued by Mattel. Do what you want, unless it’s sick and perverted and hurting someone.
mm : Define spoken-word poetry...
Andrea : It seems to me that while styles range, spoken word is evolving and is very ‘next’. It’s a revival of the ‘Beat Poets’ of the 60’s. It’s sort of like rapping, but doesn’t necessarily have to rhyme, and the rhythm is less constrained. The best performers use a distinct element of theatrical presentation. There are no set rules, which is very exciting. It can be accapella, or mixed with hip hop, house, or drum & bass. I like it best with a wicked bass line, and on a hip hop tip. I like a little unexpected classic rock or 80’s bits mixed in too.
mm : Who are some of your poetic inspirations....
Andrea : Leonard Cohen, most of all. I’ve never been so touched by any other poet. Pablo Neruda is amazing, very florid. I like individual poems here and there, but find I am disappointed when I buy the book, except for those two poets. I love mythology and fairy tales, and read a lot of that type of stuff, which inspires many poems. That’s actually what I started out being known for, was the retelling and humanization of fairytales.
mm : Is there any poetry that you are not feeling??
Andrea : Yes, although I have been accused of being a goth in my PVC clothing phase, I can’t stand horror or disturbing stuff. Overly sentimental is not to my liking either.
mm : Is there such a thing as "bad poetry", if it is to be expressive...can there be "bad artistic expression" (your thoughts)??
Andrea : See, that’s the thing. Just because it might not be to my taste doesn’t mean I have the right to call it bad. But I will say that I am excruciatingly hard on myself, and every piece goes through heavy rewrites, and there are still pieces no one will ever see (or maybe they’ll be published after my death, god forbid). There is a personal ‘just for yourself and your friends’ standard, and then there is a professional standard. If a poem expresses a piece of humanity and releases something within the writer, great - keep expressing. But if the work lacks strength, it won’t necessarily be published. It depends what your goals are, and what your personal definition of success is.
mm : Does music play a part in any of your inspirational works at all??
Andrea : Absolutely. Different music depending on the mood, but I always like to have something playing in the background - the soundtrack for my endless mental movie.
mm : What genres of music do you currently listen to right now??
Andrea : I love hip hop - underground and gangster rap. Words are so important to me - I am into lyrics. I am really feeling the 80’s, and some classic stuff. I listen to whatever I want to know more about. Everything from 2Pac to Saul Williams, Jill Scott to Kate Bush, Heart to Billie Holiday - depends on my mood.
mm : If we were to open your cd deck right now, what would we find??
Andrea : A lot of MP3 downloads of things I’ve heard on the radio, or heard people talking about, which I am listening to see if I like. I buy a lot of CD’s because I’m a sucker for good packaging. MP3’s have helped me weed out the music I don’t like, though, and avoid the ‘only one-good song on the album’ irritation. That new song ‘Tainted’ by Slum Village is so beautiful. “Penny for a Thought’ by Saul Williams is one of the most amazing spoken word tracks ever - it goes into this wicked drum & bass breakdown.
mm : Tell us about your cd "Amazon Island", who produced it and who did you work with on the project??
Andrea : I was going on tour with the Swollen Members and a bunch of rock bands last summer, and decided I need a CD. It was made in 3 weeks, and I basically produced it without knowing anything about recording, working with engineers who were also learning. I met cb shaw through friends while searching for backing music, and now we do shows together and co-write - he’s a superstar DMC-style DJ/Vocalist. I’ve developed a lot since, what with my ideas and vocal training. I am working on loads of new stuff.
mm : What was the inspiration behind the cd "Amazon Island"
Andrea : I’m really into camp. There is a Wonder Woman comic scene where she is swimming, and the caption reads, “Invading Mermen! I’ve got to warn Amazon Island!" Then you see that 3 guys with fins are chasing her. I thought that was so funny. I feel like an Amazon, because I’m 6 feet tall and larger than life. People stare at me like I’m some kind of freak, and don’t what the hell hit them. So there was that inspiration, and also the Island thing, because I’m from Vancouver Island. They grow the kids tall over there. It’s the water.
mm : I love your magazine, a lot of creative works, a lot of energy....tell us about it from its conception and birth...how did it all start??
Andrea : Ever since I was a kid I thought about working for a magazine, but traditional journalism seemed so boring and I never wanted to study it. Why, so I could get some boring job at a newspaper where ‘the man’ distorts the truth? I had just gotten really into the idea of creating my own reality. I knew I was organized, and I knew I could write and edit and talk to people about it. I knew the word would spread. I had this vision of taking poetry to a street level, where it would fall into the hands of people who might not otherwise pick it up, through the trick of appealing packaging. Copious is sort of my contribution to the cause of literacy and the arts, because poetry provides introspection and encourages development. Independent publishing is not lucrative in a small city like Vancouver, so I view it as a hobby, which allows me to enjoy the process more. I like that it is a free voice, and that a corporation doesn’t control it.
mm : Now I've heard of being multitalented, but you are a poet, author, editor of your own magazine, model and actress...where do you find all the time??
Andrea : I work at night on the writing, when everyone else is sleeping. The city is quiet and the phone doesn’t ring. I plod through my tiresome paperwork midday, and run errands in the afternoons. Photo shoots and acting roles require me to sometimes get up early, which leaves me with that sick shaky feeling, but it’s okay because I can also perform in stasis. I don’t live by the time clocks of man, but I can work fast when there deadlines. I don’t talk on the phone as much as I used to, or socialize as much. Success has a price - you have to give something up to get something else.
mm : Tell us how your modeling career started out??
Andrea : There are two versions. It really began when my mother took me into an agency in Nanaimo because she wanted me to get a job. I was so shy! They taught me how to walk runway, and I won a contest in a mall, which simultaneously thrilled and mortified me. They wanted to send me to Europe, but at 16 I had the sense to realize I was naïve, and I didn’t want to be corrupted. I hadn’t even kissed a boy, yet I was afraid that predatory photographers would feed me cocaine and perv out. My life would have been very different had I gone. I also wanted to be known for my writing first, and not be a model-turned-writer. A couple of years later after I’d moved to the city and had had some poems published, I was ‘discovered’ again at a gas station by a modeling agent. I started booking print work, which then somehow led to acting (Vancouver is a film town). I stayed with that agency until last summer, when I released ‘Amazon Island’. I left because they were always pressuring me to do body work - topless, topless in a g-string, bikini, and it got on my nerves. Why the hell would I want to be photographed nude for someone else’s purposes and profits, and then have it plastered all over the internet, like a mutating virus? I decided I wanted full control over my image, and that if I could run a magazine and be a decent businesswoman, I could probably do a better job managing all aspects of my career. I feel better choosing my own projects and not having anyone tell me “Oh, you should do it even though you don’t feel comfortable, because it’s $10,000". I’m still booking jobs, and working with incredible photographers, so its working.
mm : Let's talk about "The Water Dream". what's the inspiration behind it, who's the publisher and where can we find it?
Andrea : It’s one of the things I am proudest of. The protagonist, Noah Shivers, is obsessed with the mythology of drowning, having nearly died in the water three times by age seventeen. He’s obsessed with mythology, having grown up in the Oceanside resort town of Qualicum Beach, where Native tradition has endured for decades. Though he is afraid of it, the raw, unspoiled water is the only place where he can escape his troubled family life and the secrets that damage small towns where appearances are everything. It’s semi-autobiographical. Adults will enjoy it, but I want kids to read it, because it deals with some tough issues. It’s being shopped right now and details will take a few months to work out. I intend to release it in 2003, and it will be promoted on my www.andreagrant.com site.
mm : Now I can remember in a previous discussion talking about a coffee table book (hint hint)...anything in the works, or is it still in a creative process??
Andrea : Yes, I am looking at design options, and working with top fashion and art photographers to compile images. The concept is poems and pictures. My mythology based work presents an interesting opportunity to interpret certain characters. This project will also be released in 2003, and I will have more control as to when, as I will do it independently. It will be available in select stores, and at my live shows.
mm : Now you are also an actress...what films have you done?
Andrea : I am the girl in the pink dress in the elevator with Kurt Russell in 3000 Miles to Graceland. I have done some independent films, which I prefer, and some music videos. I’ve played a noir-style vixen with a gun in a trench coat, an unhappy wife, a spy… I am very busy, so I don’t have time to audition in the cattle call the way I used to. I’ll only do projects that are interesting to me, and these days that means my own vignettes and videos.
mm : Is there any screen writing in the works right now or has there been any in the past??
Andrea : There will be one for ‘The Water Dream’. I am considering filming a couple of scenes, having found kids who look like Noah and his girlfriend, Madeline. There will be a MINX film eventually, and I have some ideas for some odd shorts. I am currently trying to focus on only 4 things at a time instead of 10.
mm : I really want to know more about "Minx" and your comic book...tell us about it...
Andrea : Minx is my super hero alter-ego who prowls after dark, wreaking havoc. In Issue 4 of Copious, readers get an introduction to Minx, who is a little confused as to her purpose. Issue 5 will have the ‘Origin of Minx’, where you will find out where she comes from. About a year ago, I started really expressing my creativity in my fashion - wearing a lot of vintage, doll-like clothes by day, and slick leather costumes at night. When the Japanese kids started accosting me on the street, I decided to give in and just admit that I’m a cartoon.
mm : In your piece "reaper", what was the inspiration behind this...in your description of death, was it inspired from an actual real-life situation??
Andrea : Yes. It’s a very metaphorical poem, and one of my favorite. It is about my brother, who got into drugs and the thug life, and it seemed like he was going to die at one point. I could see something dark hovering around him, and I had vivid nightmares where Death was hovering. I think he did sort of die, in the context of deep transformation of consciousness. The last line, “And I’m glad it wasn’t me," has to do with the irony and guilt that comes with the stigma of being the ‘good child’ of the family.
mm : Now I see your character in your works as this independent-strong-sexual being with a lot of deep inner expressions in your work.... with a lot of vivid description of feeling...now when you actually start to write, does it just flow, what I call "mental ejaculation", or do you go through a creative process to prepare when writing a piece??
Andrea : Poetry is like a fever that comes on suddenly, usually at night. I work through inspiration, and get the best poems when something breaks my heart. I also work with language, and get some poems out of exercises - for example, I randomly choose 10 words from the dictionary and force myself to write a poem in under 5 minutes. I read a lot, and write from the point of view of mythological characters. I am independent and strong, yes…I have had to be self-sufficient from a young age. I refuse to conform to a preconceived notion. I come from matriarchal cultures on both sides - Celtic and Native Indian. I know how to be a warrior without losing my femininity. The sexual streak stems from my appearance, quite honestly. I think people would be surprised to find that I am quite reserved and old-fashioned. I have a body straight out of the 1950’s - a DJ once introduced one of my shows with ‘she has the face of an angel and the body of a porn star’. What people don’t know is that no one has ever tried to hide it more than I did! It was very hard for me get to a certain age and have men all of a sudden sexualize me. I struggle with being extremely private, even introverted, and yet staying true to my art. I’ve been accused of producing a sexually provocative magazine, and you can imagine the reactions! I’ve had stalkers and predators coming after me, and I’ve dealt with all the preconceived notions that come with being blonde and curvaceous. Sensuality occurs because it is an aspect of humanity. Sexual content in my writing is also an act of defiance, because of all my repressive tendencies. I guess I am at war with myself, and the authenticity of the work wins out.
mm : (In your own words) describe your style in creative poetic writing....
Andrea : I write about people - human and immortal goddesses. I am very much about the knife twist-pang. There is a lot of subtext, a lot of myth analogy. I want people to see themselves in my work, and feel like someone understands them.
mm : What's in the future for Andrea Grant?
Andrea : The literary and the visual, expressed through fiction and poetry. More live spoken word performances and collaborations with other artists, particularly in the hip hop genre. The MINX comic is going to blow up when I am finished with it! Film…merchandise. But I can’t give away all my secrets!
mm : What do you want to be remembered by??
Andrea : I want to be remembered as a great writer who took risks, and pushed past limitations without becoming jaded. I want my work to be required high school reading, the voice who gave a new generation of kids books about real teenage issues. I want to be the woman responsible for redefining the spoken word movement, who always looked good doing it!
mm : Is there any advice for up and coming artists out there that you would like to give??
Andrea : So much that I am going to number these, and make a top 5… 1. Research the artists you admire most. Figure out how they did it to get ideas, and then make your own formula. Learn from the mistakes of others, but don’t be a copycat. Befriend other artists in your genre, so that you have advisors who know what they are talking about. 2. Don’t worry about rules and fitting in so much. Most people secretly love eccentric artist types, even if they pretend not to. Remember that constructive criticism is helpful, but negative comments stem from jealousy. 3. Everyone says ‘follow your dreams’. It’s a clichéd statement, but it really means ‘don’t lose sight of your goal’. You need a goal, which is written down and clearly defined, in detail, and you need to think about that vision several times a day. 4. Don’t get distracted. You have to have a strong work ethic. Hanging out with friends might be fun, but when you do it too often, you will not have the energy to create your art. I learned this the hard way. 5. I have paranoia about the collective unconscious - that all our thoughts go up into a big canopy, and pour out into the minds of others. So I am always choked when someone across the world releases something I thought of when I was 14. I tell myself ‘there is enough abundance, there is enough room...’ one day I might actually believe it! Still, people are shaped by so many experiences that you can give the same project idea to two people, and the results will be very different.
mm : Thanks for taking the time out to make your mark on mondomedeusah...keep up the great work..and we look forward in more of your works in the near future....
Andrea : Thank you. This is the most detailed interview I’ve ever done - I’m glad you asked such good questions. You’ve also asked what books or web sites I recommend, so here it goes… Books: - Leonard Cohen, Stranger Music. It’s his ‘best of.’ - There are two essential futuristic novels everyone should read. Start with 1984 by George Orwell, which will depress you, then do Brave New World (Aldous Huxley) which is also futuristic but somehow happier. -The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley). The book, NOT the movie, which was badly done. It’s an amazing retelling of the Arthurian legends through the perspective of the women. It’s very matriarchal and delightfully pagan. -The Power of Myth (Joseph Campbell). Stories are the cornerstone of our culture, and this goes into great detail as to why. Websites: - CbShaw.com - I have to give props to this amazing DJ/Vocalist/Producer who I collaborate and tour with. I am in one of the videos on the site, playing a spy in ‘cb vs. Telus.’ - CityOfNecropolis.com - I became friends with the brilliant creator of this futuristic world last year. This ‘city of the dead’ is interpreted in photos and stories highlighting human greed and desperation. - CopiousMagazine.com - If anyone wants to see what my indie magazine is about, here’s the direct link.
interview by: Donald K.
©2002 - 2003 mondomedeusah
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