Kim Chinquee: Flash as Little Gems

Kim Chinquee has lived all over and done many things, from farming as a child to a career as a military medical technologist. Then she took one creative writing class and a new course was set. It’s one she’s followed for years now, as a working writer, editor, and teacher. Her stories reflect her rich and interesting background. They’re polite and restrained, but underneath is just the hint of the off-kilter, or maybe even a bit of danger.

First off, for those who want to order your books in stores: How do we pronounce your name!

CHIN and then QUEEN without the N.

Please share some things about your childhood and your life today in Buffalo.

I grew up in Wisconsin on a dairy farm. I remember being outside a lot, roaming the farm, exploring the fields, the creeks. I befriended animals (mostly cows, and my sister’s goats, and we had a lot of wild cats and a series of dogs).  Lots of work, too—baling hay and picking stones, feeding calves, cleaning barn stalls. Milking. I was also in 4-H, working on projects in things like macrame, drawing, cake decorating, dairy, leathercraft, sewing, public speaking.

I went to a Lutheran school, where I was a very shy and diligent student, and involved in sports: basketball, softball, volleyball, and track. My father was schizophrenic (undiagnosed until many years later), and though I spent most of my childhood afraid of him, I’m grateful to have had all these other things on which to focus. When I was 15 my parents divorced, my family sold the farm, and I moved to Green Bay with my mother and my sister.

Here in Buffalo, I co-direct the writing major and manage the literary journal ELJ at SUNY-Buffalo State. I’ve been here just over six years (longest I’ve lived anywhere since I was 18). I spend a lot of time writing, editing, doing service and administrative-type work for the college. Sometimes I visit my 24-year-old son, who now lives in Baltimore. I’m active in the running and triathlon communities, and focus hard on training. Last year I had a house built, and I love to be at home.

When did you begin writing, and in what form?

After high school I joined the Air Force, and worked as a medical technologist. Got married young, had my son, then divorced. I’ve lived in places like Texas, Mississippi, England, Germany, North Dakota, Minnesota. It wasn’t until after I separated from the Air Force and went back to school and took a creative writing class with Thomas Williams that I started writing seriously. After I wrote my first short story, I didn’t stop.

Tell us about the early years of your writing career. Did you ever struggle to find your footing, your voice, or to publish?

Once I started writing in college, I was eager to keep at it. While I enjoyed my job as a medical technologist, I just knew there was something else for me, and after I started writing, I wanted to keep doing it so badly. I felt like I finally had a voice. I wanted to be heard. I wrote every second I had. I was a single mom, in school and working, and I didn’t sleep a whole lot. In two years, I got my bachelor’s in creative writing. Then I went straight to graduate school, where I studied with Frederick Barthelme, Steve Barthelme, and Mary Robison.

I started sending out my work then. I had a lot of pieces and sent things out religiously. Once I’d get a rejection from a magazine, I’d document it in my log, then send something else. I just kept on sending and sending. I think at that point I was still finding my voice. I worked closely with Frederick Barthelme, and he helped me find my voice. After I got my MA there I went to the University of Illinois (for an MFA), where I studied with Jean Thompson and Richard Powers. And I just kept working with the same amount of passion.

What draws you to writing flash fiction?

I wrote my first piece of flash fiction in Mary Robison’s workshop. She’d asked us all in class to come to the next session with a very short piece. I wrote a story called “Pure Gold,” which she really liked. I sent it to NOON and it was accepted. (The title was changed to “The Top Shelf.”) It was published in the 2002 issue—and that’s how I met Diane Williams, who has been a great mentor to me, as well. (I’ve been in every issue of NOON since.)

After that publication, I kept working with the form because I seemed to have more success with it. I like the form because there’s so much you can do in that small space to alter the meaning of a piece. Each is like a tiny powerful gem.

I notice some reoccurring themes in your work: ambiguous romances, loneliness, travel. Is that correct? Share a bit about the themes in your writing and why they surface.

I guess I’ve had a lot of ambiguous relationships! Honestly, I think most relationships are. In fiction, I like getting to the heart of them, exploring their guts. How we deal with our relationships is a big part of who we are; they can either make us stagnate or they can change us. As far as loneliness, leaving a relationship—whether with a romantic partner, or a business partner, or a friend, or a family member—can feel lonely at first. I believe, as humans, we are constantly changing, and regrowing. And sometimes that lends to loneliness and isolation. I try to convey that in my writing. I actually like being alone a lot of the time—it allows me to see things in a way I may not otherwise, and I like to capture those things in writing.

As far as travel, well, I love to travel! As a kid I hardly ever traveled, and once I did, like writing, I didn’t want to stop. I’ve lived all over the place and like to draw upon those places. I like the landscape that it provides for my writing. As far as themes, I also draw upon many others such as military life, single-parenthood, mental illness, running. I guess a lot of that seeps through.

Do you give many readings? If so, do you enjoy them?

Yes. I love readings!