An Interview with Avitus B. Carle

Avitus Buckhaulter Carle’s work has appeared in The Commuter (Electric Lit), The Rumpus, Waxwing, JMWW, Best Small Fictions, and elsewhere. Avitus earned an MA from West Chester University and an MFA from the Naslund-Mann School of Creative Writing. She lives and writes outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Learn more at avitusbcarle.com.

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

I have several people in my life who have either influenced or inspired my writing journey. My grandmother, who pointed out that, despite the ballerina in my brand-new book sharing my name (including the exact spelling of said name), she could never be me because she was white and I’m Black. This started my search for the Black protagonist in all their forms.

My parents also fed my love for storytelling, whether feeding my hunger for books with trips to Kmart after kindergarten or being somewhat impressed by my ability to lie years after learning the truth (there’s a reason why the house only has hardwood floors).

Then there are my teachers/mentors who continue to encourage me to think outside of the box. My 6th-grade teacher provided the class an assignment to create a book of poems from scratch (including writing the poems that would fill our books), those who saw my struggle to find the Black protagonist and introduced me to Toni Morrison, Octavia Butler, Ann Petry, as well as Sandra Cisneros, Julie Otsuka, and many more. Without any of the above, I wouldn’t be the writer I am today.

What inspired you to start writing this book?

I actually fell into this book. I always thought the first book I’d publish would be a novel and flash (stories 1,000 words or less) would be what sustains me until then.

Of course, the more flash I wrote, the more I started to notice a connection between some of the stories. A lot of female protagonists were especially on their best (or worst) behavior, all demanding attention on the page. I thought, if they want the attention here, why not give them the space to do so in a collection? Doesn’t hurt to try and I’m so happy I did because this flash fiction collection won the 2023 Moon City Short Fiction Award!

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

The book, These Worn Bodies, is named after one of the stories included within this collection. This story is one of the first flash pieces I’d written and explores the origins of having a body that’s worn, both as an individual and as a collective of people. I also wanted to honor my progress as a writer, from that story and what the characters and context means to me to where I am now, with an entire collection filled with flash!

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

In high school I worked on a ropes course, belaying visitors as they scaled different obstacles or climbed the tree that led to the zipline. I also refilled hotel vending machines with my father, was an assistant to a playwright, worked in the library’s IT department during undergrad after working at Raising Canes. Prior to my current job formatting and editing in the medical field, I worked at a grocery store before and during COVID which I wrote about in my essay entitled: “What It’s Like Working at a Grocery Store During COVID-19” published in Shondaland (under my previous penname).

What books did you read (for research or comfort) throughout your writing process?

Kindred by Octavia Butler (I read this book every year)

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman

Boy Oh Boy by Zachary Doss

Wild Life: Collected Works by Kathy Fish

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

The Best Microfictions Anthology, 2020, 2021, 2022

The Best Small Fictions Anthology, 2020, 2021

Luster by Raven Leilani

Death, Desire, and Other Destinations by Tara Isabel Zambrano

Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker

Nimona by N.D. Stevenson

Political AF: A Rage Collection by Tara Campbell

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

Abstinence Only by Meghan Phillips

Can This Marriage Be Saved?: A Memoir by Nancy McCabe

Families and Other Natural Disasters by Anita Goveas

Ghosts of You by Cathy Ulrich

What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?

The one thing I hope readers take away from my book is that flash can and should be a form used for experimentation and exploration. Flash is often dismissed as being “easy” to write because it’s a story written in less than 1,000 words (micros are stories often written in less than 400 words). However, that’s what makes writing flash so challenging, forcing writers to create a complete story that resonates with readers with so few words at their disposal! Several flash writers are also reimagining how stories are being written and told whether borrowing from the influences of poetry or experimenting with form, telling stories through WebMD searches, questionnaires, lists, puzzles, games, and more!

As for my perfect reader? I have a hard time envisioning them because I want my reader to include multitudes. My reader, hiding away from the stress of their workday, reading my flash collection in the coffee shop across the street. My reader, reading one of the micros included in this collection before bed. My reader teaching my stories to their class, telling their friends, taking notes on the page, buying a new copy because they read the book so many times they’ve destroyed the spine. My perfect readers are those who read and who share what they’ve read with others.

Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.