AUTHOR PROFILE
A few years after earning her doctorate, C. J. Trotter (a.k.a. Christine Trotter) shifted her focus from teaching at NYU to writing poetry and fiction. She was nominated for 2024’s Best of the Net, and one of her poems was published in Poetry Daily. Her work has appeared in RockPaperPoem, Euphony, Crack the Spine, FishFood, Spank the Carp, Elm, Typehouse, Cimarron Review, and Jerry Jazz Musician, among other publications. She and her husband live happily on the west side of Manhattan.
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C.J.'s work appeared in Pond 84
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Why do you write?
A few years ago, a wise woman asked me what I think about after I finish reading something great. My answer: How did the author do that? I wanted to know the “how.” She quickly responded: You need to write. And gosh was she correct! I write because I need to. There’s so much beauty in written works that inspires and challenges participation. If a few days go by and I haven’t put words to paper, I feel as if I’ve lost out on a precious opportunity. Also, writing is a great vehicle for channeling and understanding feelings. Condensing those feelings into small spaces is a great joy.
What other creative activities are you involved in?
I began playing guitar at age twelve. But when I entered grad school, I had little time and my guitar sat in the corner, lonely and yearning for physical contact. Thankfully, we found our way back to each other. Now some of my happiest moments are when music and words join forces and show up as rhythm or melody in a poem or short story. When I’m not writing or playing guitar, I’m fantasizing about baseball—in particular, the high that must come from sliding into home base just under the catcher’s mitt.
Who is your favorite author and why?
I have many. Some (for now) are Jennifer Egan for her range and willingness to experiment; Andre Dubus iii for his expansive heart and spellbinding realism; Dan Choan for his deep dive into the psyche; Rebecca Makkai for her skill in combining contemporary topics with profound feeling; Deb Olin Unferth for her outlandish takes on human nature; Adam Haslett for putting words together so beautifully. Lately, some of my favorite poets are Alice Friman, Kathy Fagan, Matthew Dickman, Dana Roeser.
Tell us about the mechanics of how you write.
Like many writers, I keep a notebook (phone, computer, pad of paper) with lists of ideas that pop into my head—the wilder the better. Most of my writing happens in a comfortable library a few blocks from our apartment. There are few distractions, and I’m grateful for that. Much of what I write is inspired by reading, so that activity counts for a lot. In fact, years ago, a writing teacher said that if writers have limited time in a day and can do just one thing—read or write—they should read. That surprised me, but now I understand what he meant.
Finally, what do you think about Carp, the fish, not our website?
Until today, I knew pretty much nothing about carp. But it turns out that carp have some interesting features. They are one of the most popular pond fish in the world. Unlike most fish, they have two barbels on each side of their mouths. They can breathe by “air gulping”: they come to the surface and suck in air from above the water. And according to R. Montgomery in a LinkedIn article (5/19), common carp are among the smartest freshwater fish, if not the smartest, with the longest complex learning retention of all fish tested. Who knew?