PN interviews nonfiction contest judge Natalie Lima
Associate nonfiction editor Julia Kooi Talen talks to Natalie Lima, guest judge of this year’s Ray Ventre Nonfiction Prize. Lima is a Cuban-Puerto Rican writer and a graduate of the MFA program in creative nonfiction at the University of Arizona. Her essays and fiction have been published or are forthcoming in Longreads, Guernica, Brevity, The Offing, Catapult, and elsewhere. She has received fellowships from PEN America Emerging Voices, Tin House, the VONA/Voices Workshop, the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing, and a residency from Hedgebrook. You can find Natalie on IG and Twitter @natalielima09.
Julia Kooi Talen: When considering nonfiction writing, are you drawn to any particular elements such as memoir, research, or hybridity/ experimentation?
Natalie Lima: Maybe because I began as a fiction writer, I've always been drawn to a very clear narrative, with tension and high stakes. So in nonfiction, I always love an element of memoir. I love essays that are all memoir, but I also love researched essays that include memoiristic elements in the piece. I love a braided essay that includes memoir and other braids on a topic that teaches me something new.
Julia Kooi Talen: Your essay, “For a Good Time, Call,” published in Guernica this past fall, had me simultaneously holding my breath and laughing out loud. I’m often drawn to stories about the intricacies of friendship, which this piece explores so sharply. I’m definitely looking forward to reading your next publication. Are there any writing projects you’ve been working on lately?
Natalie Lima: Thank you so much for saying this. I'm currently working on an essay collection. All the essays are very personal/memoiristic, but there are some that include outside topics and research. I write about topics that can get quite heavy—divorce, addiction, dating, abortion, consent, class—so I often try to use a bit of humor to create a balance in tone. Frankly, I use humor so I don't scare the reader away with all my trauma, and so that I don't scare myself away from the page.
Julia Kooi Talen: What have you been reading or watching lately? Is there anything you’ve been returning to for inspiration or comfort during the pandemic?
Natalie Lima: I just read Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong, which blew me away. It's one of the smartest things I've ever read. I also recently read Thick by Tressie McMillan Cottom. Both are essay collections that beautifully mix in the personal along with cultural criticism. Regarding the nonfiction I often return to, there are several books off the top of my head: Roxane Gay's Bad Feminist and Hunger, Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls by T Kira Madden, Meaty and We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby, Ordinary Girls by Jaquira Diaz, and How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee.
To learn more about Passages North’s Ray Ventre Nonfiction Prize, visit our submittable page. Deadline April 15, 2021.
