Behind the Unique Voice of Megan Baxter’s Essay Collection, Twenty Square Feet of Skin

I'm excited to welcome one of my favorite people, Megan Baxter to the podcast this week. Megan has had an impressive journey, from working on a farm while earning her BFA in poetry, to winning national awards including a Pushcart Prize, and landing on the PEN America Literary Awards long list for her essay collection, 'Twenty Square Feet of Skin.' 

We uncover the inspiration and themes behind her collection and how she weaves her own unique voice into the themes she covers in each essay. We also explore the nuances of her latest collection and her encounter with literary inspiration, Joni Tevis, which spurred the creation of this profound body of work.

Megan reveals the theme of physicality in her collection, deftly woven through her essays, and provides insight into her creative process. From the initial idea to writing about uncomfortable subjects, she talks about the importance of authenticity in her work. 

We'll also explore how titles and sequencing in essay collections can influence a reader's experience and how it differs from a traditional novel, poetry, or nonfiction work. Join us as Megan shares valuable advice on uncovering and claiming your voice as a writer and the challenges of revealing personal truths in writing.

Key Topics:

1. How Megan came up with the ideas and themes behind Twenty Square Feet of Skin
2. Coming up with the titles for each essay
3. Do titles influence the voice of a writing piece?
4. Sequencing each essay
5. How to read the collection to get the most out of it
6. Analysing Live Find, On Revision, and Megan’s favorite piece in the collection
7. How voice changes from project to project, genre to genre, and as a teacher
8. Voice = POV + Syntax
9. Unabashedly showing up as who you are on the page
10. Take a break from reading to help activate your own creative voice

Connect with Megan online:

Website: www.meganbaxterwriting.com

Books: https://www.meganbaxterwriting.com/books

Instagram: @meganlbaxter

X: @MBaxterwriting

Facebook: @meganbaxterauthor

Find more from Jill:

Email: [e-mail]

Website: https://www.thewritersrefuge.com/

Writing Coaching Programs: https://www.thewritersrefuge.com/coaching

Sign up for my free 3x weekly writing session: write to [e-mail] for ZOOM info

Special thanks to LVDY for allowing us to use their song, Saltwater, in the intro and outro of the podcast!