PageOneLit.com:
Where did you grow up and was reading and writing a
part of your life? Who were your earliest influences
and why?
Phyllis
Johnson:
I grew up in rural Suffolk, Virginia and because of
that, I’m still a country girl at heart. Surrounded
by farms, reading seemed one of the best activities
aside from riding bikes. My neighbors had this
great hammock and a stockpile of fantastic magazines
such as “Time” and “Life”. I’d lose myself in the
magazines while swinging in the shade.
Writing became part of my life when I hit puberty. I
found myself writing poetry and funny classified ads
that I wrote with a cousin of mine. I fell in love
with words from an early age when my dad read us
stories and poems each night. I loved poetry by
Robert Frost, Carl Sandburg and Walt Whitman. Carl
Sandburg’s fog coming in on cat’s feet was like
music to my soul. I loved the metaphors. Then as a
teen, for short stories, I loved Edgar Allan Poe and
O. Henry. Edgar Allan Poe’s mystery intrigued me and
I loved O. Henry’s twist at the end of his stories.
Picture books still fascinate me and I will always
love Shel Silverstein’s poetry. Of course “The Diary
of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank, had an obviously
huge impact on my life.
PageOneLit.com:
Why do you write?
Phyllis
Johnson:
The ideas keep coming and it’s like a dam that will
burst if it’s not allowed to flow. Writing is so
much a part of who I am. I’ve had times when I’ve
written less and I’d get this sensation of sadness
and then finally realize it was the Muse grieving.
It sounds crazy but that’s the only way to describe
it.
PageOneLit.com:
Would you describe yourself as a poet or a writer or
both? Explain.
Phyllis
Johnson:
I call myself a writer when I’m doing
photojournalism, a novel or short stories. When it’s
a poetry book, I suppose one would call oneself a
poet but I usually say writer. That‘s probably
because I am multi-genre. I try to write just about
everything- poetry, photojournalism, romance,
inspirational, juvenile, suspense, nonfiction- you
name it. I’d also like to write plays, songs,
screenplays, etc.
PageOneLit.com:
Your new book of poetry titled, "Being Frank With
Anne" is outstandingly original - Where did the idea
come from to write this book? What does Anne Frank
represent to you literally? Personally?
Phyllis
Johnson:
The idea to write the poetry book, “Being Frank with
Anne,” came when I reread the diary as an adult. It
spoke to me so deeply that I felt the desire to
encapsulate the emotion in the diary as succinctly
as possible in words, thus the poetic form. The idea
to write the book came one summer after writing a
few poems based on her diary. To me personally, Anne
Frank represents courage and hope. She also
represents justice and the desire to find the best
in people and situations. I have always admired her
for that. Literally, her book is a reminder for
adults to look deeply into young people’s hearts and
souls and realize that still waters run deep. It is
also literally a remembrance of the huge mistake
that the world shouldn’t make but has been making
again with genocide.
PageOneLit.com:
In "Being Frank with Anne" you dissect her personal
diary "Kitty" with 'poetic interpretations' where
you hope to 'bring a deeper understanding" of Anne
Frank's world. Explain. What do you hope to achieve
with "Being Frank with Anne"? What do you hope
readers will take away after reading it?
Phyllis Johnson:
What I hope to achieve with the book is that through
the poetry, the story is told getting right to the
meat of it. Perhaps this form of writing trims away
at the wording and slices to the core of emotion. Of
course, I can only interpret in the way the words
move me. I could never begin to imagine living the
life she did, knowing the horrors that were
happening around her and to those being transported
away to concentration camps.
What I hope readers will take away after reading it
is a deeper appreciation for freedom, justice and a
heightened realization that love for mankind is all
important.
PageOneLit.com:
Anne Frank was thirteen when she received a diary as
a birthday present, she named it ''Kitty" -- Do you
keep a diary?
Phyllis Johnson:
When I turned 12, I received a ten year diary. I
probably wrote in it six years daily. I rediscovered
the diary when I was 28 years old and lost it during
a move to another home. I still regret having lost
that diary. It was filled with young, tender
thoughts. I guess the closest thing I do to keeping
a diary now is emailing friends. If I saved all of
them, I’d have the equivalent to a diary now.
PageOneLit.com: Do
you believe diaries are personal or private or both?
Phyllis
Johnson:
I think that a diary is a deeply personal and
private journal, normally something to be hidden
from view. In Anne’s case, the diary became
something of worldwide interest, being translated
into so many languages.
PageOneLit.com:
What did you learn from writing "Being Frank with
Anne"?
Phyllis
Johnson:
Writing this book made me look more deeply into her
emotions. I thoroughly pondered every sentence in
her book. I’m not Jewish and yet I felt a kinship
with Anne. In some ways, while writing the book, it
felt as though I was becoming Kitty. Sounds strange,
doesn’t it? Maybe that hadn’t occurred to me until I
started answering these interview questions. Maybe
in a way, it was Kitty talking back to Anne, being
frank with her.
PageOneLit.com: What's
next?
Phyllis
Johnson:
I’ve been busy writing magazine and newspaper
articles. I’ve also written a collection of sweet
romantic short stories with a fellow writer. Another
poet and I are writing spiritual poems together for
an anthology. I have a young adult suspense novel
titled “Inkblot” in need of marketing that Penguin
has shown some interest in but has changed course
on. Currently, I’ve written 120 pages of an
inspirational book and I have a number of juvenile
pieces/books I also need to market. My first poetry
book, “HOT and Bothered By It,” a book of midlife
humor, published by Community Press, has kept me
busy with book signings, too.
I have an idea about writing more poetry books about
notable women. I have a few famous women in mind
that I’d like to write about. I may write a series
of these books. My daughters like that idea.
PageOneLit.com:
What was the last book you read?
Phyllis
Johnson:
I’m currently reading “Witness,” a book written by
Ruth Gruber, a well known photojournalist who
documented the exodus of Jews from Europe after the
Holocaust. Before that, I was reading “The
Classroom,” a great book about instructing at
school, written by Michael James D’Amato.
PageOneLit.com: Do
you have any hobbies? What are they? How do they
enhance your writing?
Phyllis
Johnson:
My favorite pastimes include going to art museums,
going dancing and I used to enjoy painting but I
haven’t done that in years. I love music and find it
very inspirational. As a girl, I took piano lessons
for a while. A piece of music or beautiful art can
inspire me to write. I also enjoy romantic comedies.
They inspire the Muse to pen short stories.
Photography is another one of my favorites. I sell
photos with my articles to publications and have
snapped many a photo with my Fuji camera.
I belong to numerous writing groups and that
takes much of my time. When I get a chance, I also
like to act and model. I’ve modeled for a Days Inn
Hotel ad, done an infomercial for Chlorox and acted
for The Discovery Channel. I’ve been in FBI Files,
New Detectives, Diagnosis Unknown, Psychic
Investigator and Movie of the Week. I’ve also had a
part in an independent film, Sweet Good Fortune.
Being on a set, watching other actors, all that
helps when writing dialogue for books. I love it.
newspapers and magazines. In her latest work, Being Frank
With Anne, Phyllis Johnson reveals a pensive, empathetic
mode of writing. Her hope is that readers will further
inspect the feelings and emotions found in the words and
between the lines of Anne Frank’s diary, a book that has
both inspired and haunted Phyllis since childhood.