Close Reader: An interview with Shelbi Polk
On literary fiction, the publishing industry, and applying to MFA programs
In this series, I ask some of my favorite Substack essayists, Bookstagrammers, and writers to share their reading and writing processes and habits, and tell us about the literary ideas they’re spending time with these days.
Today’s interview is with Shelbi, a freelance writer and book reviewer who is constantly putting out amazing, interesting new work. We met on Bookstagram and the rest is history. Let’s dive in!
Let’s start with an introduction. What’s your name and where are you currently living?
Howdy! I'm Shelbi, and I'm originally from Dallas, but I've been in Durham, NC for three years now.
What are you reading right now?
Fake Accounts by Lauren Oyler (hilarious, hits way too close to home!)
Surreal Spaces: The Life and Art of Leonora Carrington by Joanna Moorhead (a biography of Leonora written by her... great niece? I think?)
Regarding the Pain of Others by Susan Sontag (heartbreaking and timely for obvious reasons)
What are some of your favorite books or genres?
Well if I believed literary fiction was real, I'd say that. (I've been suspicious of the width of that label for ages, and this piece articulated all my thoughts on it for me!)
So, I don't really have a shorthand for it anymore. I like books that are curious about form and characterization and our use of language. I like work that makes me feel very deeply and/or introduces me to new-to-me ways of thinking. And I'll probably always campaign for more and better translations of work from all over the world! But I also love a good sci fi/fantasy novel for entertainment as well!
I think clever women writing with/about humor and rage is my favorite niche? Lauren Oyle, Leonora Carrington and Susan Sontag all hit that. Also Toni Morrison, Yiyun Li, Kelly Link, Eleanor Catton, Virginia Woolf, Clarice Lispector, Colette, Octavia Butler, Francoise Sagan and Iris Murdoch. Shoot even Diana Wynne Jones. And then of course there are plenty of not-women who also do this! Dostoevsky, Borges, Eskor David Johnson. Whew, sorry, this is getting long!
What ideas have you studied? What is your area of specialty?
I double majored in International Studies with a focus in arts and cultures and Literature back in the day. So my classes were mostly focused on European lit -- lots of French and Russians. I spent a few years after school reading only books by women and then only books by people of color to make up for a pretty narrow focus in undergrad...
As a freelancer, I do a lot of author interviews for Shondaland, so I've read a lot more contemporary lit in the last year and a half than I ever had before. It's been really fascinating to learn how the contemporary scene functions.
What ideas are you studying or exploring right now?
Honestly the publishing industry from every angle except the actual publishing side. I recently wrote a piece on the long history of book clubs as liberation, and I think literature is the artform least beholden to our capitalist overlords. Anyone can write, and writers like Colleen Hoover prove that anyone can make money off writing. It's a tiny, tiny sliver of people without institutional support who can do that, obviously, but still! When was the last time a director started off with truly no investment and no connections? You need nothing but time and a notebook to write. But then nothing is divorced from capital either is it? I've worked as a bookseller, covered new releases, and been a literature student. It's all part of the same machine, and I don't know how we liberate writing. I'll let y'all know if I figure it out.
What does closely reading mean to you? Do you consider yourself a close reader?
Not always! Sometimes I'm reading just for comfort or fun.
But when I am reading closely, for work or otherwise, I take notes in Notion or any of the three notebooks placed in strategic locations around my life. They're very unorganized notebooks. Thoughts, summary, reminders, themes, repeated words, etc. are all mixed in there together, sometimes flipping back and forth between books back to back.
When I'm interviewing an author, I'm mostly looking for thematic things to ask about or really idiosyncratic stylistic choices to build insightful interview questions around. When I'm close reading for me, I can get a bit more microscopic, but wow is it hard to find time for that process these days when I'm doing it for work already.
What is your reading method? Tell us about your reading routine, habits, quirks, anything you'd like to share.
I picked up the habit of being militant about having a book with me from Rory Gilmore 20-something years ago, and my mom still makes fun of me for having one on hand when we go out to dinner. But I'm prepared! I can and do read anywhere and everywhere. I'm also adhd and bi, so I am physically incapable of sitting in the exact same position for too long.
I have to read for a while before I fall asleep, and I spend the first hour of my work day reading and writing. But otherwise? I'm not sure I really do have much of a routine or habit.
Do you prefer to read hardbacks, paperbacks, or digital copies? Why?
Digital is my least favorite way to read, but I'll do it if I must. Otherwise, I'm cover density apathetic.
What’s your annotation process like, while you read? Do you write in your books? Why or why not?
I'm very much a marker upper, but mostly of the underlining/exclamation mark kind. It feels affirming to find those things on a reread or even a casual flip through of older books. Most of my books have a half dozen little sticky tabs once I'm done with them too, and I have folded down a few hundred page corners in my life.
I am starting to accumulate more older/unique copies of things though, and it feels weird to write in them?
Speaking of writing, what is your current writing project?
There are some fantastic interviews coming up (not to name drop, but hello Kaveh Akbar!) and I'm pitching some outlets I really want to write for. So fingers crossed for that!
I'm also applying for MFAs right now (fully funded only, so I'm not banking on them), and I'm really pleased with the two stories I wrote for those! So I'll probably try submitting them places once I get the applications all done.
Describe your writing process. Where do you start? How do you get focused?
I find it infinitely easier to write by hand, so anything creative starts that way. I've gotten very into fountain pens lately. You have to refill them every now and then, which feels deliciously pretentious and physical. I'm only really religious about my morning journaling hour. Otherwise, it's wherever/whenever I have a pen and paper, but having a candle and caffeine is preferable.
Describe your revision process. How do you go back into a piece of writing to revise?
The first revision cycle comes when I type things up (lots of big structural changes here), then I print it out and edit again by hand, and then that version is finished. Usually there's a week or two between the typing and the coming back to things. Enough time to let things settle without letting them get stale.
Describe your editing process. What’s that like? Do you self edit? Reach out to friends?
I've sent these MFA apps out to about a dozen friends, half of whom aren't writers at all. It's been great to get several different perspectives on my most recent stories, and I'd love a dedicated writing community (hence the MFA).
I think the biggest thing on editing vs. revising for me is time. Things must rest or I'll have nothing new to add.
What is the relationship between reading and writing, to you? Where are the overlaps? Where are the important distinctions?
They're inseparable to me! I can definitely get into an overconsumptive mode where I'm reading too much, but I can't write without any reading. I mostly read things that are out of my reach as a writer right now, so it's nice to keep inspiration close at hand.
It absolutely trickles into my writing, but as long as I'm reading things I'd be proud to be associated with, that doesn't bother me.
What’s your current coffee or tea order?
I'm actually not a huge coffee drinker (but very pro diet soda, so that's not a pretentious stance), but I love trying all the seasonal drinks! Extra chocolate, maple, cinnamon, brown sugar anything.
Lastly, for those who want to get to know you better, where can they find your work? Share your @ for anyone who wants to follow along!
I've been bad at keeping up with social media lately, but fingers crossed I can get it together in the new year! @polk.fiction on IG and a Substack I'm also running in 2024!
Thank you for sharing your answers here, Shelbi! I can’t wait to read more of your writing this year!
Loved ths intereview! Looking forward to checking out Shelby's new Substack, too. Thanks for sharing 😀