Congratulations to Ariel Dandara for having their following tale chosen for publication on Blank Canvas Post. The tale that follows is a truly wonderful exploration of confessional literature, exposing details of deep pain, love, and existential vision. Please read the follow conversation between us at Blank Canvas Post and Ariel Dandara to understand more about the writer and the context for this brilliant tale.
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Writer Spotlight: Ariel Dandara.
Originally from Brazil, Ariel Dandara has been practicing their craft of writing for the last three months.
What was it that made you start writing?
The books I read when I was a little girl. I saw those stories and decide to create mine.
What experiences have you had that have shaped the writer you are today?
Honestly, my writing is mostly shaped by dark experiences with myself and other people. But, ironically Im consider myself as a fake pessimist, because I love life and be able to describe the delicious and chaos that is to be alive.
What genres are you writing at the moment? What genres do you enjoy writing?
Drama, confessional style.
What inspires you to write? Where do you take your inspiration from?
My experiences, my emotions, some writers like Sylvia Plath, Oscar Wilde and songwriters like Lana del Rey and Jim Morrison. Also my relationships, the fact of being in love and be loved, even when this love isn’t good or reciprocal.
What does your writing process look like (e.g., environment, tools, setting)?
I mostly write in my computer but I’m trying to keep handwriting as much as possible because I know the multiples benefits of it. Usually, I start a new piece when a single word or a sentence pops up on my mind. I write it down in my notes and brainstorm through the day. Read books and see the world and people around me keep my inspiration flowing. Im always saying that you can’t avoid life when your work is describe the way you see it, so this is one of most important part of my writing process.
What do you envisage when you are writing something new? Are you writing with the intention of sharing your work, or are you simply writing to write, for example?
I write because writing makes my heart beat and when I not doing this I feel dead. I can say that writing makes me alive. But of course I want to share my work and see other people relate with my stories, experiences and feelings.
Why do you think that community is important for writers and creative people?
Because supporting each other’s work is a better way to spread our writing than being alone against the algorithms and the frustration of not being recognised.
Where do you currently share your work?
On my IG account (@writingsariel) and Substack.
Why did you submit your work to Blank Canvas Post? What drew you to our publication?
I was randomly scrolling in the explorer’s Substack tab and found a post of Blank Canvas looking for writers to submit their work. I saw a great opportunity and decide to try it.
About the Tale: Clairvoyance.
Regarding Clairvoyance, what inspired you to write this piece?
I was thinking about a way to escape for the inner darkness. There things that I usually do when my mind is foggy. Drive alone is one of them.
What is the context for this piece? What is the main feeling or message behind it?
I think we all have a dark side. I have my inner demons and monsters under my bed. Also, as a person diagnosed with a chronic mental illness, I understood that I will fight against this for the rest of my life. When Im anxious or filled with anger, I try to find ways to let this bad feelings behind and not hurt the people that I love and loves me, instead. In the end, I’m the only one who can decipher my mind. The sun rising represents hope, a message that everything will gonna be fine. Besides, dancing with my barefoot in the grass it’s the representation of me reconnecting with myself again.
What was the process of writing this piece like for you? What did this process look like?
It was wonderful because I was expressing my feelings and finally writing after a long creative block. Also, my husband was next to me teaching his online cinema class and I only could think about how perfect is to be with someone who loves me and support my art. Besides, our compatibility and connection are totally magnetic. I felt lucky.
Why did you choose to submit this piece specifically to Blank Canvas Post?
Because I felt embraced and gifted with a opportunity that always seemed distant. You guys opened a door for me and other writers and this is a great way to keep literature alive, circulating and show new artists to the world.
So, without further ado, here is Clairvoyance, a tale by Ariel Dandara.
Clairvoyance, by Ariel Dandara.
They say coyotes are children of the moon. When it’s full, they cry in the form of howls to their celestial mother. Just like them, I crossed the lonely desert and made my pain echo across the metallic miles of the open road. I needed to drive until the slate-grey developments vanished. Sometimes, when all hope dissipates like smoke, a clear horizon is needed to emerge. The wind enters through the window and makes my hair float like the black algae of a virgin lake. I brought nothing with me but the earth under my nails.
I could have tried to hide a body, but I was only looking for the bottle of wine I buried in the backyard and solemnly swore to drink in ten years, when my children were old enough for us to toast together. No matter how much time passes, the emptiness always returns like a plague ready to reap the rose garden of my thoughts. Suffocating crises that burn like napalm.
Since I no longer resort to the anaesthesia of opiates and the neon lights reflecting in dilated pupils, I leave the man I love to sleep alone and venture into the purple dawn. The first rays of sun begin to tear through the lavender sky, dissipating the thick clouds of tropical rain. I relax the shoulders stiffened by anxiety, and the air – once solidified like ice stones between the rib cage – starts to circulate again. I no longer hear the claws of the nocturnal tigers scratching the thresholds, and then the thick fog that causes my desperate blindness dissipates, giving way to apple-green light. And then, only then, I can return home and dance with my bare feet on the dew-damp grass.
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