Peter is the youngest member of The Youth is Write Series (behind Greg Dybec by a few months), but that doesn't mean he isn't involved in BIG things.

Peter Kispert is a student currently living in New Hampshire. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Word Riot, The Catalonian Review, > kill author, Pear Noir!, and Mud Luscious Press, among others. He is the Editorial Assistant and Proofreader with The Medulla Review and Medulla Publishing and Founding Editor of Sandpaper, a print publication for student-composed creative nonfiction. He was born in 1990.

Parker Tettleton: If you were on a billboard in New Hampshire, what would it say?

Peter Kispert: I have no question that particular billboard would read, “He wants to leave too.” Maybe I’d be smiling, pointing west or something.

PT: I see you're affiliated with several literary publications -- has the editorial process affected your craft?

PK: To some extent, yes, I’m certain having some perspective on the editorial process has proved invaluable. I don’t think it’s influenced my own writing, though. I’m still working to develop that independent of the fiction I edit. It’s nice to be on the other side of things, and I’ve come from my editorial duties with more of an appreciation than anything. I’m still learning, but I positively love every moment of it.

PT: How are you like an oreo dipped in milk?

PK: I don’t drink milk, so this question is especially difficult for me to answer. I guess we’re both sort of confused, out of place. I’ll have to settle for that, though I imagine our parallels run deep and with a good deal of grand, compelling symbolism.

PT: Would you rather write or be right?

PK: I’d rather write. I suppose there’s some novelty to being right, but that’s nothing that interests me nearly as much as creative writing. In the third grade, I was asked to spell the word “right” for some preliminary round of a regional spelling bee. I spelled the word “w-r-i-t-e.” I was almost disqualified, but that lead us to an interesting discussion on homophones. These are the things I retain. Ask me about logarithms. 

PT: How often do you write? Do you have a favorite place to do so?

PK: I write nightly. I prefer to drive aimlessly at night and talk out stories. That’s been my preferred means of actualizing these sorts of things. Occasionally, I’ll stumble upon something that captivates me, and when that happens it really is the strangest thing. I’m not as easily moved to write creatively during the day.

PT: The bio for your Word Riot piece "Fortune Factory" mentions that you're working on a novel. How is the project thus far? Have you attempted extended works before?

PK: Ah, yes. The novel. Truthfully, it’s been an arduous process. Then again, I can’t imagine it could ever possibly be easy. I’ve tried my hand at writing longer work before, but it never seemed to unfold properly. I began to understand that the stories I was conjuring were not best told in such length. I’ve been putting a great deal of time into fine-tuning characters, their actions—a fascinating situation or location normally does the trick; for me, it’s a matter of finding myself in that place where I feel a story needs to be told. Once I’m there, I’ve at least got something on the page.

PT: How long have you written?  Would you call any authors &/or works in particular catalysts for your literary ambitions?

PK: I’ve been writing nightly since high school, so it’s been six years now. I first started writing diligently around the time I discovered Matthea Harvey’s poetry. It’s just brilliant. All of it. The way she vivisects language—the care in which she breaks images and reconstructs them to her own ends—is something I closely admire. As far as fiction writers I love, Jennifer Egan takes the cake. There are a great many others whose writing stays with me. The online community is bursting at the seams with talented writers, many of whom write radiant fiction and poetry I’m always privileged to have work appear alongside. 

PT: Do you have any long-term goals for your writing?

PK: I’d like to have work appear in a few specific literary magazines someday, but that will never be the driving force for my writing.

PT: Do your creative habits & skills extend beyond literature?

PK: I like to think so, but then again, it’s hard to say. I’ve been involved with a good deal of theatre in the past, but that’s become less a part of my life as I’ve taken such a keen interest in writing creatively.

PT: Is there any creature more dramatic than a human being?

PK: I’m not sure. I’ll grant that people are pretty dramatic. PT: What role does the internet serve in terms of your literary conscious? Do you feel closely tied to the online community of writers?

PK: I don’t feel particularly close to the online literary community, but I’m content admiring great writing nonetheless. I’m pleased that fantastic work has become so accessible. If I want a knockout poem or short story, I know where to find one. There’s so much beautiful writing online as well as in print. Sometimes it’s a bit overwhelming.

PT: Compose a bio devoid of publications, age, & location that best describes you at this moment.

PK: Peter Kispert don’t want no scrub. Also, he’s a big fan of grapefruit, remedial geometry, and humility.
       Thanks, Parker and Greg!