Ryan Fiordimondo
Oyster River Pages: What do you hope readers of your story “Strays” take from it?
Ryan Fiordimondo: I like to include a certain vague bittersweetness in my stories as a way to encourage the reader to reflect. While I have my own ideas as to what my stories mean, I like to write so that multiple, equally valid conclusions can be drawn in regards to their messages and the fates of the characters. Also, specifically in regard to Strays, I set out to simply make the reader laugh, or, at the very least, exhale from their nose a little harder than usual.
ORP: How has the COVID-19 pandemic changed your relationship to art and writing, either in the creation of it or the consumption of it?
RF: I get a lot of my inspiration from people, so, unfortunately, I have recently been going through a bit of writer’s block. Quarantine has gifted me infinite amounts of free time, but has ripped away any hint of inspiration or drive to utilize it. I have, however, been able to expose myself to a plethora of new and thought-provoking literature, film, and music, all of which will undoubtedly influence my future projects.
ORP: Do you believe that hope is a luxury, a responsibility, a danger, or something else? Why?
RF: I think hope, now more than ever, is a necessity.
ORP: If you could choose one writer or artist, living or dead, as a best friend or mentor, who would it be? Why?
RF: Currently, I think I’d pick David Lynch. He has such a mesmerizing, wonder-and-awe approach to the creative process that I find very inspiring.
ORP: Years from now, when historians look back on the art and writing of the early 21st century, how do you think they will articulate the zeitgeist?
RF: I’m not entirely sure, but I hope that there will be an observable tonal shift away from the ironic nihilism of post-modernity towards a more genuine and earnest vulnerability.
