Christopher Rubio-Goldsmith
ORP:What inspired you to begin writing or creating? Has that source of inspiration changed throughout your life?
Christopher Rubio-Goldsmith: I received a creative writing degree from the University of Arizona in 1986. Then I taught high school English and I took writing classes in the community or the local community college, but it wasn't until I retired in 2015 that I really sat down and created time to write. It has been such a pleasure and reward.
ORP: Do you write or create with an audience in mind? If so, how do you consider the relationship between that audience and your work throughout your creative process?
CRG: My brother once told me, "Do you realize how different our experiences were growing up." That really sunk in. He was so right. I mean our parents and extended families were beautifully different. We heard Spanish ballads at one grandparents' house and the big band sounds at the others. Tamales and turkey at Thanksgiving. Frijoles with every meal at one house. Spanish and English in the house like two happy dogs. I knew those experiences mattered because they are common on the frontera.
ORP: What does success as a writer or artist mean to you?
CRG: That's a good question. For me it is articulating an idea or a meaning that is impossible to explain. What a wonderful challenge.
ORP: Who do you consider to be your creative ancestors and contemporaries for your art and/or writing? How does your creative work converse with theirs?
CRG: I have really fond memories of my college professors and classmates. Two teachers really helped me discover something important (Steve Orlen and Jon Anderson). They both valued the narrative poem, with a strong authoritative tone. (Very 80's hahaha). And I had some classmates that showed me how to study and be disciplined. If it wasn't for them I don't know if I would have had such a rewarding career.
ORP: Does writing or creating energize or exhaust you? What aspects of your artistic process would you consider the most challenging or rewarding?
CRG: Both. I mean sometimes my writing takes me to places that scare me and remind me of how difficult it is to be truthful with yourself.
ORP: Do you know more than one language? How does this influence your art and/or writing?
CRG: Spanish...bastante Spanish. Code switching is a big part of my process.