The PoArtMo Anthology Series: Interview with Marjolein Rotsteeg

Hello everyone!

Welcome to our PoArtMo Anthology Series, which celebrates the artists whose work appears in The Auroras & Blossoms PoArtMo Anthology: Volume 4.

Today’s guest is Marjolein Rotsteeg, who contributed a story and three poems to our anthology.

Auroras & Blossoms: Tell us all about the inspiration behind your pieces.

Marjolein Rotsteeg: The short story ‘The Cakes Club’ is inspired by the world of horses, riding schools and (very) rich people.

The poem ‘Writing is…’ is about a time when I didn’t have much inspiration to write. I knew I just had to get started, but found distractions and excuses not to, until…

The poem ‘The first snow’ is about a day early winter when little by little the world was covered in about thirty centimeters of snow and went quiet.

The poem ‘The power of stories’ is inspired by the perpetual cross pollination between all the different forms of art.

A&B: How does a poem, story or creative piece of art begin for you? Does it start with an image, a form or a particular theme?

MR: A poem or story can begin in many ways. Sometimes the trigger is something that really happened. Other times it can be a dream, a (short) film I see inside my head, one single word, a newspaper article, an experience in nature, and literature or works of art.

A&B: What is your own artistic background?

MR: Ever since I could hold a pen, I have been writing stories and poems. My first published poem, at age nine, was about my pony Girl. On Wednesday afternoons I wrote fictional stories to a picture of an animal. I still have three of them.

During my studies of Dutch and English, I also followed courses in creative writing, theatre and film(making).

While I was working as a (music) journalist, the creative writing took a backseat for a while. Somehow I have always known there would come a time for that again.

That time came after completing my non-fiction book Cherchez la femme. Travestie als fenomeen on transvestism and transgenderism. I followed two courses at ‘t Colofon, school for writers in Amsterdam, on short stories and novels. I had my first two short stories published, ‘De erfenis’ (The heritage) and ‘Vrouwentongen’ (Mother-in-law’s tongues). Just as I thought I might get a collection of short stories together, fibromyalgia struck, hard. I had to give up writing altogether. Years later, without any (deadline) pressure, I picked it up again. Fortunately, the muses are still with me.

A&B: Does your work have any specific themes or social commentary we should identify with?

MR: Nature, animals and people never cease to inspire me. That is broad, I know. Transcience, beauty, vulnerability, (in)justice, animal wellfare, sweet revenge and the process of writing itself. I’m allergic to snobbism.

A&B: Tell us the most positive and uplifting advice you have been given while working as a creative person.

MR: “If you can write a story like that, that novel will come as well”, by Adriaan Krabbendam (†) the editor of my non-fiction book Cherchez la femme. Travestie als fenomeen (1996) on my short story ‘De erfenis’.

Bio:

Marjolein Rotsteeg is a writer and a poet, writing in English, Dutch and French. Nature, people and animals never cease to inspire her. She is a former music journalist and the author of the non-fiction book Cherchez la femme. Travestie als fenomeen (Vassallucci, 1996) on transvestism and transgenderism. In 2023, her haiku were published in The Auroras & Blossoms Haiku Anthology: Volume 1, the inaugural edition of the Folk-Ku Journal (King River Press) and the online Enchanted Garden Haiku Journal. One of her 55-word flash fiction stories is also featured in an anthology published in The Netherlands.

Website: https://substack.com/@marjoleinrotsteeg

Marjolein, thank you for answering our questions and supporting Auroras & Blossoms! We know that people will love your work as much as we do!