A Punk Noir Interview with
Wilson Koewing
I think like most people I first took notice of Wilson through his short stories. They’re pretty hard to ignore, as is the obvious talent behind the words. He’s a pretty prolific writer too, with stories popping up everywhere and in every genre. Not a lot of writers can say they’ve been published in a wide range of the best crime, transgressive and literary mags, but Wilson is one of those who can. Everything the man writes seems to hit home with skill, insight and a deep sense of understanding for the world we live in.
As these interviews I’m doing are intended to showcase a wide range of literary talent, it was only right I hit up Wilson for an interview. So, here he is in his own words.
Cheers for agreeing to an interview, Wilson. Big fan of your stories. All right, to kick things off, would you tell our readers a little bit about how you got your start in writing and the whole literature scene? Your origin story if you will.
I’ve written since I was young. I attempted my first novel in grade school. It was terrible, though akin to autofiction in that it was about me and my 3rd grade class. We did nothing and it was just pointless description. Based on the current literary climate, it may have been brilliant. After that I wrote for many years for my own amusement. In my teens I wrote a lot of stream of consciousness nonsense in notebooks. Poetry. Song lyrics. I kept the notebooks for years then eventually threw them all away. A regret. They too were likely brilliant. Around my early 20s I guess I could say I started taking it semi-seriously. I became obsessed with cinema and attempted to write my own screenplays. I enjoyed listening to music and imagining movie scenes. Eventually I ended up in film school at The University of New Orleans. I soon realized I didn’t have what it took to be a film director and that I definitely didn’t want to work on film crews. The hours and the lifestyle are just hellish. But the love of screenwriting persisted and for a while I thought I might be able to do that. After I got my bachelor’s in film I was accepted into the MFA program at the same university as a screenwriting student. While there I took workshops in the other disciplines (fiction, poetry, CNF) and realized I had a knack for fiction and non-fiction. Soon enough I decided I didn’t have what it took to be a screenwriter either because success in that world is very much (and maybe this is changing a little, but was at the time) predicated on real life networking and pitching almost exclusively in L.A. So, I turned to prose. Sitting alone in a room with the blank page was all I was capable of.
In late 2019 I was accepted into a writing residency in Johnson, Vermont and while there I met several fiction writers who I immediately hit it off with. Most notably, Greg Tebbano and Joy Baglio. They introduced me to the literary twitter community. From there I slowly learned the ins and outs of submitting to lit mags and that’s how I started publishing my work.
Why do you write?
Because I can’t escape the inspiration. I also enjoy the craft. The challenge of solving story problems. The rhythm of words and sentences. But the reason I persist is because I believe I have something to say, something to offer through my observations and experiences of this specific time and place in history.
You’ve made a name for yourself by writing some pretty outstanding short stories. What’s your favorite short prose piece and why did you write it?
Probably “The Fox Trap” which is a story in my book JADED that was originally published in Five on the Fifth.
It was the first short story I ever had accepted in a literary magazine and also the first story that really challenged me. It went through countless rewrites and there were times I didn’t think I could make it work. But the story is strong because of it and possesses a layer of depth that only grew through the rewriting process.
I wrote the story because I’d gone home for the holidays to the small town where I grew up and my mother told me about a high school acquaintance who’d become semi-famous for singing songs on movie soundtracks. I was friends with the woman on social media and when I looked at her page I learned she’d made some money and left Hollywood to live in the mountains of Western North Carolina with her husband. From what I could tell they were going to spend their lives pursuing various artistic passions. It seemed idyllic, but my mind wandered to “what would happen if this decision really went sideways?” And that’s how the story was born. I made up a fictional nightmare scenario very loosely based on their story.
What advice would you give to up and coming indie authors?
A couple years ago I might have attempted to give some positive or encouraging advice, but the truth is I’ve been through too much, seen too much and come to understand too much when it comes to the world of indie lit to offer any advice that isn’t pessimistic or negative. The closest I could come to advice would be to say it is a pursuit I would not advise.
What are your plans for the future and what are you working on now? Any plugs?
I always keep numerous projects in rotation. It’s how I work best and keep busy. If I’m stuck on one project I’ve always got another to turn to, and if I’m stuck in general then I’ve got plenty to edit. Specifically, I’m working on another collection of connected short stories set in the small town of San Anselmo, California where I’ve lived for the last 15 months. I’ve also got two full length projects that will be somewhere between novella and short novel length in the works. One is a multi POV character story about a New Orleans family and the other is a Terry Southern esque satire about a wealthy teenager who lives on an island off the Carolina coast who spends his time feuding with the island’s curmudgeon-y sheriff. I’d like to complete all three by the end of the year.
I will of course plug my books JADED (Main Street Rag/Mint Hill Press) QUASI (Anxiety Press) and my chapbook SHRINK WRAPS AND ODDITIES (Bottlecap Press). And my 4th book currently titled ROLLING ON THE BOTTOM will be released early next year from Cowboy Jamboree Press.
What novel are you reading at the moment?
I’m not reading any novels at the moment though I did recently finish A FEAST OF SNAKES by Harry Crews which was incredibly disturbing and memorable. I’m currently reading WINESBURG, OHIO by Sherwood Anderson, SPEEDBOAT by Renata Adler and PLAY IT AS IT LAYS by Joan Didion.
What music are you listening to lately?
The older I get the less I pursue new music. There’s just so much out there and the discovery of it (which I used to love when I was younger) has been replaced by other things. But I still listen to music, mostly in the evenings while cooking dinner, having a cocktail and staring out of the 27 windows in my kitchen at the rolling hills of Marin County. I’ll turn on a Bob Dylan playlist or a 90s rock playlist, maybe some Tyler Childers. Or some Jazz. I like music for atmosphere these days.
What’s your favorite punk song?
“All Tomorrow’s Parties” by The Velvet Underground and Nico.
Favorite noir novel?
The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith.
Favorite piece of art?
2001: A Space Odyssey
What is an issue you care about deeply?
Freedom of Speech
Describe your writing style in three words.
Crisp.
Clean.
Visual.
Three favorite indie novels?
I don’t know that I’ve read enough indie novels to say three definitive favorites, but a few I’ve read recently that I liked are CIALIS, VERDI, GIN, JAG by Adam Johnson, THE BACANORA NOTEBOOKS by Mather Schneider and I KEEP MY VISIONS TO MYSELF by Mallory Smart.
If you could go on a drinking binge with 5 writers alive or dead who would you choose?
Hemingway, John Williams, Hunter S. Thompson, Bukowski and Greg Tebbano.
If you could choose a movie death to go out to what would it be?
I’d go out like Tony in SCARFACE.
What song do you sing in the shower?
Usually whatever song has wormed its way into my head for the week. For whatever reason, lately it’s been “Just Like a Woman” by Dylan. I love that part that goes, “…and when we meet again, introduced as friends, don’t let on that you knew me when…” it’s been stuck in my head for a while.
Would you rather have a New York Times mega one hit wonder or a small cult following that lasts forever?
If those are the only choices, give me the one hit wonder money.
What would you like written on your gravestone?
Nothing. I hope to be frozen.
Bio:
Check Out Wilson’s Website Here
Wilson Koewing is a writer from South Carolina. His debut story collection “Jaded” is available from Main Street Rag/Mint Hill Books. Click HERE to purchase.
You can read an interview where Wilson discusses the writing of JADED at Bull Magazine HERE.
He also discusses the book in an interview with Reckon Review HERE.
Another review from Cowboy Jamboree Magazine can be read HERE.
(Interview by Stephen J. Golds)
Stephen J. Golds was born in North London, U.K, but has lived in Japan for most of his life. He speaks the language pretty well and makes great takoyaki.
He writes primarily in the noir and dirty realism genres and is the editor-in-chief of Punk Noir Press.
Punk Noir Press 