An Interview with Bailey Gaylin Moore, Conducted by Braden Kane
What got you into writing?
It was the only thing I was naturally good at. Like, I don’t have a cute story like Donald where he was carrying around Karl Marx and wearing a trench coat in middle school. I always wanted to be a marine biologist. And then in high school I wanted to be a doctor. In undergrad I went through, like, five different majors from philosophy to chemistry but I always took philosophy and creative writing classes and it’s just where I shined the most.
How long did it take you to write Thank You for Staying with Me? Is there any history about the project as a whole that you would like to share?
Yeah, I would say it took me about 10 years, but I wasn’t writing that whole time. I really resist writing. Trying to figure that out. But between those degrees and PhD I was writing these essays. And honestly, being with Donald I was just like, ‘I just want a book.’ I had enough essays to put them together and I submitted it. The first place that I submitted it, took it. I was really lucky with that.
What are some of the biggest inspirations for Thank You for Staying with Me and your writing in general?
I would just say anything that held my attention, which I know is really vague. But I really think curiosity is one of the most important things we can have as a creative. I’ve always been interested in science, like I come from a family of engineers or scientists. Specifically chemistry and astronomy. Maybe that’s because of the existential dread that came with? And trying to parallel that with philosophy, which I’ve always loved because it navigates those existential questions firsthand. Writing for marginalized people too, and how they’re treated in my community.
What does your writing process look like?
Um, I usually go to different tabs and avoid it. I do research a lot. Oftentimes I am going to back to notes I’ve made and trying to find a starting point from that. I also have an endless Google Doc of like one-liners I have or ideas to write about. I really don’t like editing, since a lot of my perfectionism comes through with the first draft. So a lot of essays in my book I only edited once and that was when I was going through it with my editor at the press.
What are some pieces of advice or wisdom you would tell a young or inexperienced writer? What about for the upcoming generations in general, with how the world is right now?
I think supporting the arts and leaning into the arts is one of the most important things that we can do. And it’s not just celebrating your art but others. Unfortunately, not everyone cares about that, especially our government. I think celebrating ourselves through art, but also education is an act of resistance. I’m not one who likes to go out marching, so it’s like what one way can I contribute that is going to make a difference? And for me that’s writing.
Do you have any favorite pieces of literature that you’ve read recently?
Yeah, let me think about it though. I’ve read a lot of good stuff recently. I’m gonna say Slaughterhouse-5. Kurt Vonnegut identifies as a humanist and I think humanism is what we need right now. This isn’t a specific book, but people in my workshop. I’ve been reading their stuff and I am so astounded by their talent. Sometimes we look at reading like it has to be a published book, but we’re engaging with reading material all the time. And just because it’s not as polished as it could be doesn’t mean it’s not resonating with you. Recently, on the way back from AWP, we visited one of my favorite writers, Abigail Thomas. She wrote this awesome memoir called Safekeeping, but one of her recent books is Still Life at 80. It’s basically talking about the aging process and even though she’s more than twice my age women especially feel the tension of aging. And there was some relief that came with her freedom in being old and I think I really needed that.
What was your favorite online, research rabbit hole? Do you have any advice for effective research?
So recently, my favorite, I’m working on a novel and it’s a multicharacter novel. One of the dudes is obsessed with space and he’s adopted. And recently the Hubble Telescope has taken an image of the oldest galaxy that we know of and it’s called MOM 714. I obviously couldn’t do much research because it’s just like, ‘Wow, we just got this image. Here’s some speculation about that.’ But basically it’s old light and so we’re seeing into the deepest parts of our past. I thought it was interesting how it was called MOM 714, so the character is reflecting on distance and what heritage and identity mean when you don’t have access to your biological parts. Let’s see, I’ve also been researching the shape of sound and sacred geometry. I’m really interested in patterns in nature like the Fibonacci Sequence and not just how that looks scientifically but philosophically. As for tips, I would say I never sit down and say, “I’m researching today.” I think researching is more like a periphery activity that I’m constantly engaging with. So, researching for me could even be scrolling on Reels while waiting in line or avoiding doing something and someone talks about something particularly interesting. Like one example is how I read about north of the Hudson, I forgot what channel that is just above the northeast, but basically a lost narwhal found a pack of beluga whales. So, it was a male narwhal and a bunch of male belugas and he basically found a new home in that pack; now they’re looking to mate with female beluga whales. Because of their genetics they can mate and produce a narwhal-beluga. Now that I’m talking about it, that story is kinda like adoption too and about identity. You can find stories or inspirations for research in everyday life. You just have to be more mindful of it and practice it until it becomes a habit.
Braden Kane is a Creative Writing/English major. He loves to write fiction with human characters and to experiment with poetry. He would also love to read, but with his school work he has built up quite the backlog.