jessie o’leary

Why did you join the editorial team for the Stonecoast Review?

I wanted to learn more about how a literary magazine works from the inside out. I also love reading other people's stories and working with writers to make their pieces the best they can be.

What was it about "The Tuesday Group" that first caught your attention? 

This is a piece that immediately stood out because it's not written like a typical story. It's all dialogue, and formatted in one long paragraph. And through these matter-of-fact sentences, you get to know the main character very well, very quickly. It's a story that cuts right to the chase, and every word is doing something very specific. 

What genres do you write in and why?

I write in creative nonfiction, emphasis on the fiction. I think the best of both genres have elements of the other. 

Whose writing inspires you? Is there a book, play or single line you wish you had written?

Recently I've been feeling inspired by Anne Lamott's "Bird by Bird," a 1990s memoir/writing guide. She is simultaneously so funny and so wise. I've also been wishing I wrote "The Great Believers" by Rebecca Makkai. That's definitely a book that has heavy doses of fiction and non-fiction, and they work beautifully together. Other writers I've always looked up to are Joan Didion, Nora Ephron, Norman Mailer, and fellow icons of the 70s New Journalism wave.