Introducing the "My Other Pen" Podcast!
Conversations with writers who have a second artistic practice
We’ve all seen the bumper sticker on the car in front of us that says “My other car is a Tardis/speedboat/sewing machine/broomstick” etc. The idea being, the car is one way to get places but so is the other— fanciful or unlikely though it may be.
For some writers, their pen may be their primary ride, but it’s just one wonderful vehicle for exploring their creative worlds.
My Other Pen is a new podcast that will feature serious writers who have a secondary artistic practice.
Hosted by Sheila Squillante, a poet, essayist and visual artist, each episode will cover questions like:
How does your second creative practice influence or intersect with your writing? (Maybe it doesn’t! That’s okay, too.)
In what ways are these practices similar to or different from one another?
What are the challenges and delights to be found in having a second creative practice?
Guests will tell their stories and offer prompts to inspire listeners to find their own “other pen” or simply engage more deeply with creativity in their lives.
By "serious writers" I mean people who have a longstanding writing practice and may be connected to a writing community of some kind. I am happy to feature guests at any level of practice, with or without books, who work inside and out of academia, so don't let the lack of publication or degree be a deterrent for submission. If you say you’re serious, I believe you! By "artistic practice" I mean traditional fine arts such as painting, dance, performance, voice, etc., as well as activities sometimes relegated to the category of craft such as weaving, quilting and jewelry-making. I am also happy to expand the definition of art to include things like cooking and baking and gardening. If you are not sure your practice "counts" as art, it probably does. I'd love to hear about it!
Episodes will run 30-40 minutes and will be recorded over Zoom and published using audio only. In addition to the audio conversation, I will publish a piece of our guests' writing and, if possible, a photo/video/recording of the secondary art practice on our Substack site. At this time I cannot compensate guests monetarily, but I will eagerly promote both the episode as well as your other art via our social media sites.
My Other Pen will begin recording episodes over the summer and will launch officially in the first week of October, 2024. It will begin with one episode a month and then hope to move to a bi-monthly schedule.
If you would like to be considered for a guest spot on My Other Pen, please apply by completing this survey.
You can subscribe to this newsletter for free to stay in the loop and share this information with others who might be interested. My plan is to host the podcast here on Substack as well. This is a labor of love and a work in progress but I’m excited to build this and grateful for your interest and support!
Sheila Squillante
Founder, My Other Pen Podcast
myotherpen@gmail.com
www.sheilasquillante.com
About the Host
SHEILA SQUILLANTE is a writer and visual artist living in Pittsburgh. She is the author of the poetry collections, Mostly Human, winner of the 2020 Wicked Woman Book Prize from Brick House Books, and Beautiful Nerve, as well as four chapbooks of poetry: Dear Sunder, In This Dream of My Father, Women Who Pawn Their Jewelry and A Woman Traces the Shoreline. Her New and Selected Poems is forthcoming from Braddock Avenue Books in 2025.
Her debut essay collection, All Things Edible, Random and Odd: Essays on Grief, Love and Food, was published by CLASH Books in November, 2023.
She is also co-author, along with Sandra L. Faulkner, of the writing craft book, Writing the Personal: Getting Your Stories Onto the Page.
Squillante’s abstract paintings have been featured in numerous literary journals, including Brevity and A-Minor, and is forthcoming as the cover art for Dogwood: A Journal of Poetry and Prose. In February, 2023, she was part of her first group exhibit, “Down on Paper,” at Vestige Concept Gallery in Pittsburgh. She is a member of the Confluence Women’s Art Collective in Pittsburgh. You can learn more about her art here.
She directs and teaches in the MFA program in creative writing at Chatham University. She is Executive Editor of The Fourth River, Chatham’s journal of nature and place-based writing, and Editor-at-Large for Barrelhouse Magazine.
She lives in the Hazelwood neighborhood of Pittsburgh, with two dogs, a bird, two teenagers, and a philosopher.