Rae Pagliarulo is the flash and writing life editor for Hippocampus Magazine, and she also works as a nonprofit development consultant. Her essays, poems, and articles have appeared in Hippocampus, The Manifest-Station, r.kv.r.y. quarterly, the Brevity Blog, and more. She returns to HippoCamp to lead a pre-conference workshop called “Creative Survival Handbooks for Writers,” because what writer doesn’t need a creative way to manage stress? She will also discuss different kinds of voices in the session “‘Voices’ on the Page.” We talked to Rae about all things HippoCamp and creative nonfiction writing.
HM: Tell us a little about your involvement this year at HippoCamp. If you’re running a break-out session or workshop, what can attendees expect?
RP: I am so excited to lead participants through making their own Creative Survival Handbooks! I learned this practice during a personally stressful time and found it incredibly healing and meditative. Folks who join me should be ready to do some self-exploration, honest questioning, and, of course, working with their hands! I’m talking pretty paper, markers, glue, scissors, glitter – things that “verbally oriented” folks like us don’t do too often.
Later, in my “Voices on the Page” session with my HippoCamp wife, Jules Barrueco (we met at the very first HC!), we’ll dig into something so elusive, it seems like EVERYONE has a definition for it and NO ONE can describe it. We like different kinds of voices, so it will be really fun to present different examples to the group and see where we agree (or don’t!).
HM: Our motto is “memorable creative nonfiction.” Tell us about one of the more recent memoirs, essay collections, or individual essays you’ve read and why it was memorable.
RP: I recently read the first essay in Briallen Hopper’s essay collection Hard to Love, called “Lean On.” I had never seen someone tackle such an amorphous, hidden topic with that much specificity and focus. I mean, who thinks about leaning? She does, and she finds ways to assign meaning to moments that previously passed me by. Reading it forced me to notice the way I hold myself in the world, and the way I transfer strength from myself to others. There’s nothing better than when an essay does that.
HM: What made you decide to participate in HippoCamp this year as a speaker? If you’re a returning speaker, how did your past experiences encourage you to want to come back?
RP: I loved speaking at HippoCamp 2017! I was speaking on a topic I felt very passionate about (addiction memoirs) and worked myself up into an absolute panic beforehand. In the audience, there were amazing writers, teachers of mine, and the author of one of the books I referenced! TALK ABOUT PRESSURE! But it was phenomenal, and I got glowing feedback. It helped me to think about myself as more than a student – I had something to offer, and here was a safe, creative, open place where I could do it. That was an essential mind shift for me, which is why I’m coming back to do it again.
HM: What’s going to keep you busy between now and HippoCamp?
RP: Dear lord, what am I not doing? I’m currently transitioning out of the nonprofit sector to pursue a career in consulting (giving fundraising advice to nonprofits), and I’m having ALL THE FEELINGS about it. I also have been traveling a lot this summer – I toured the California coast and attended a week-long writing workshop at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, MA – and am low-key working on developing my own tarot deck based on a favorite television show. I also have an article coming out on the Brevity Blog in August and am entering my sixth month as Hippocampus Magazine’s flash editor, so I’m working with anywhere from 2-7 authors at a time to make their pieces as strong as possible for each issue. Whew!
HM: Since you’ll also be attending the conference, when you’re not wearing your “speaker hat,” what are you most looking forward to learning or doing?
RP: I look at HippoCamp as a family reunion – I get to see people I absolutely adore each year and hear all about what they’re working on! It’s so welcoming and lovely to surround myself with “my tribe” for a whole weekend.
HM: We love introducing Lancaster to attendees. If you live here or have been here before, what would you recommend to other attendees?
RP: Man, I love this little town. If I’m not attending a session or having a power nap in my hotel room, you can find me wandering through Building Character buying things I don’t need, drinking a London Fog latte at Prince Street Cafe, snacking on whoopie pies at Central Market, or having a stiff Manhattan at the Pressroom.
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Thanks, Rae! We can’t wait for you to return to HippoCamp—we’re sure “your tribe” has sorely missed you.
Reader, if you have been thinking about registering for HippoCamp 2019, wait no longer! Click here to register or to learn more about the conference.
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