Ivy Jones
Why did you choose Stonecoast for your MFA?
Stonecoast's low residency format was a great draw to the program. Having just moved across the country, I decided to look into low residency MFA programs to continue my education. When I researched Stonecoast, I noted a number of "green flags." One of which is the Pop Fiction track, which even though I am a Traditional Fiction student, shows that, among many MFA programs who disdain genre fiction, Stonecoast treats art as art. I've mentioned before in author bios and elsewhere that one of my artistic goals is to create as much art as possible in as many disciplines as possible, and Stonecoast allows not only for giving genre fiction its due but also for fudging the lines between genres, respecting hybrid and overlap, and cultivating space for serious academic discussion about the state of the creative writing MFA.
Why did you join the editorial team for Stonecoast Review?
I spent two years as a reader and fiction editor for my undergraduate's magazine The Tower and two years as Editor-in-Chief. We worked on a smaller scale, only reading works by students, teachers, or alumni, and our process for submissions was primarily through email. After graduation, I took on the position of Editor-in-Chief for two issues of the magazine Zero Readers, a publication linked with the nonprofit Pencilhouse, an organization that provides free editorial feedback for a window each month. I greatly enjoy being involved in publication. The style of organization scratches an itch for me, especially when using Submittable, and it's an honor to read so many people's pieces. I'm interested in going further into general publication, but that is to come. There's always a joy in seeing a magazine filled with all sorts of writing put together by so many people in its final form, a collaborative artwork.
In what genres do you write and why?
As many as I can! My focus is short form fiction, but I write twice as much poetry. My favorite topics to explore have to do with LGBT+ identity, sex (the act), the neurodivergent and/or mentally ill experience, semiotics, the interactivity of art, and mommy problems. Above everything else, I like to pick apart characters on the page. This may sound silly, but I like writing short stories because it means I can easily encapsulate the story. When writing, I can see the loop of beginning and end, and novels scare me! Poetry is something I use to process my thoughts in fragments or purely figurative language--not a lot of that actually comes to light. I'm also currently messing around in a just-for-fun highish fantasy world that will likely never see the light... unless it does? Who knows. Watch out.
Is there an author or artist who has most profoundly influenced your work?
I am indebted to George Saunders for introducing me to short stories outside of schoolwork. I remember the first story I read by him ("Victory Lap") and where I was (New Hampshire) and thinking, whoa all of this in just twenty pages?! Leonora Carrington has also influenced my work, though much later on, with her surrealist and dreamlike elements. Additionally, I'd like to shout out Karen Russell, Virginia Woolf, Octavia Butler, Helen Oyeyemi, William Blake, and Anne Carson, just in general.
Where can your work be found?
I have very recently had a microfiction published in issue four of Bleating Thing. All other online publications can be found on my Linktree, linktr.ee/eekivy.
What do you hope to accomplish in your writing future?
Some handmade 'zines to be left around random places, some musings on my in-character Instagram, a Substack post or two, submitting submitting submitting. Eventually a published collection. But for now, I'm spattering words all over the place. Watch out!!!