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Conversation with Carol Shields
At what point did you realize that a sequel to Dropped Threads
2 needed to be created?
At the Vancouver launch for the first Dropped Threads I
realized that the 'questions' from the audience were not really
questions; they were narratives, individual stories which were stimulated
by the book. Women had spotted some correlations, some parallel
experience in their own lives which needed to be heard.
Are
there any major differences in theme between the first Dropped Threads
book and the new sequel?
The new Dropped Threads addresses the same question as
appeared in the First: what we aren't told. The subjects, though,
are more diverse, and the stories perhaps more bravely expressed,
as you would imagine. Bold disclosure is learned from models of
disclosure. Trust is built from the fact that others have trusted
us with their experiences.
Adrienne
Clarkson wrote the Foreword to Dropped Threads 2. How did
she come to be involved in the project?
I had the opportunity of talking to Adrienne Clarkson about
the first book. She seemed interested! I wasn't sure whether her
official role would rule her out as a contributor, but I decided
to ask anyway. I knew that whatever she wrote would not be banal.
Some
of the topics discussed in Dropped Threads are very troubling,
But ultimately positive, especially in the context of breaking the
silences that women keep. Did you (as editor) and the writers find
the process of crafting their stories cathartic?
Marjorie Anderson and I agreed we wanted to have a wide sphere of
women's experiences, and the result is a broad range of voices,
too. Writers crafted their own stories, but Marjorie and I were
heartened to see the first drafts grow into finished pieces.
Given
the phenomenal success of the first anthology, and the resulting
flood of requests for a sequel; the selection of pieces for inclusion
in the second book must have been a much more difficult process.
How did you manage to narrow it down to just 36?
For the second book we had far more good pieces than we could use.
How were we to narrow down our choices? We looked for subject matter
that has not been touched on before. And we paid attention to the
freshness of the voices, which is not the same thing as looking
for polished writing or professional strategy.
Did
you find working on the second anthology as rewarding as the first?
It was a pleasure working on the second volume and to see how women,
even those who are not professional writers, found new and daring
ways to construct their narratives. So many of the pieces have an
arresting 'making it up as it goes along' quality. Spontaneity and
urgency brought the stories alive, and so did a measure of good
humour.
What
are some of your favourite stories regarding the public's reaction
to the book? And at the book launches?
A woman told me after reading the first book that she discovered
other women were different and yet the same. What a remarkable discovery
— the recognition of our differences and, at the same time,
our commonality.
Did
you ever think that Dropped Threads would do so well? Why
do you think it did (is doing) so well?
We all suffer from loneliness. We all think we are weird or maybe
crazy to Have the thoughts we do. We believe our experiences to
be singular and Isolating. Dropped Threads presented a
listening community of women and Invited new voices into the circle.
Threads brought women together by loosening our tongues.
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