Interview
Edited by Suzanne Rust “There are many beautiful people in prison who deserve a second chance.” Eva Santigo is an advocate for families affected by the Child Welfare System and for youth impacted by the Criminal Justice System. Realizing that mental health is rarely addressed or accessible to families affected by the Criminal Justice System, she promotes Functional Family Therapy, which helps them cope. Her fight to help free her husband C...
Edited by Suzanne Rust Our MOTHerview is a interview featuring a Moth storyteller. This month's MOTHerview features Nina Mcconigley, whose story "Sorry, Sari" begins with Nina coming of age as an Indian young woman in a Wyoming and tackles mother-daughter relationships, cultural and generational divides and the beauty in traditions. How did you know that this was the Moth story you had to tell? My wedding was only a few months before the Moth event in Wyoming, so I was ...
What have you been up to since telling your story? I still travel and play. There was a US Backgammon Federation (USBGF) for women where I placed in the top five of the US versus the UK. I placed first in the performance rating. I have also qualified for the US Women’s National Team Championship. I also give free lessons every two weeks on West 109th Street and Amsterdam Avenue from 2 to 4 o’clock to anyone who wants to learn—whether they know some of the game, or nothing...
The MOTHerview: Questions for Aleeza Kazmi about her story “Pastels and Crayons” Edited by Suzanne Rust How did you know that this was The Moth story you had to tell? One of my favorite things about developing a Moth story is that sometimes truths about an experience reveal themselves in the process of crafting the story. And that was certainly true about “Pastels and Crayons.” I knew it was an important experience that triggered a change in my life, but it was only through The ...
How did you know that this was the Moth story you had to tell? In 2016, when I first started thinking about how my book What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker would work, structurally and tonally, this story was at the center of it, because it functions as a bit of a synopsis for the sort of book I wanted it to be---an irreverent, uncomfortable, transparent, and (occasionally) hilarious dive into some of the genuine absurdities of existing while Black in America. And, well, I’d never read or...