Shazia Hafiz Ramji’s poetry collection Port of Being won the Robert Kroetsch Award for Innovative Poetry and was a finalist for several other awards. Her short story “Selvon in Calgary” appeared in The Malahat Review and her art writing, literary criticism and journalism have appeared in The Literary Review of Canada, Quill & Quire, C Magazine and Momus. She also works as an editor, educator, and book designer. Shazia splits her time between western Canada and the UK and is currently at work on a novel, excerpts of which have already received recognitions.
Shazia Hafiz Ramji is taking part in a panel curated by The Malahat Review, that features authors who have published short fiction in the journal.
Interviewed by Rebeca Dunn-Krahn
Rebeca Dunn-Krahn (RDK): You publish work in a variety of genres and forms including essay, poetry, criticism, opinion and fiction. Among these different forms, does one stand out as a favourite? Is there a form that you haven’t yet tried but are itching to?
Shazia Hafiz Ramji (SHR): Thank you for noticing, Rebeca. My favourite is poetry because it’s always an opening and a surprise – it always leads elsewhere, to short stories, for example, like it did with “Selvon in Calgary,” which I’m so happy to share at the festival! Wait, my favourite is the novel! I have some fantasy in me, for sure.
RDK: How do you manage switching between these distinct types of writing that seem to require very different ways of engaging the intellect and the emotions?
SHR: I wish I had some strategies to share, but really I think I just like reading… I’m always hunting for that I-see-through-your-shit kind of clarity, which when written well is piercing, elegant, and has this quality of stillness in any form. So I’m voracious. Switching between different forms and genres, or between something like criticism and creative writing doesn’t feel too drastic… with the exception of poetry, which has always been deeply oracular for me.
RDK: You wrote your story “Selvon in Calgary,” which was published in The Malahat Review, in just three days. Does your process often involve sustained bursts of inspiration like this? If not, what is your typical drafting process for short fiction?
SHR: With short stories, I am of the burst variety. My writing process involves a lot of thinking and “dreamstorming” a la Robert Olen Butler. I usually think about something for a long time, but the actual writing takes a short time. This is probably why I have resting bitch face. Even though I write quickly, I still write a few drafts. I might write new drafts from scratch or revise the first, but it still involves around 2-5 drafts.
RDK: Your essay about the work of Farah Al Qasimi begins, “For some of us, home cannot be understood as a specific place.” You’ve lived in several countries, and currently split your time between three cities in two countries. How has this experience and perspective influenced your writing?
SHR: Thank you for this attentive and difficult question! What comes to mind is James Baldwin saying he felt free in Istanbul, where he wrote and completed some of his major works. Something about that resonates deeply for me too; writing about “home” while being away. I could connect the dots of that resonance to my ancestry, which has a long history of exile. But I also dislike complacency and stagnation in myself and in other people. Though this doesn’t always necessitate moving home, it often has for me. This aversion to complacency helps my writing in many ways. For example, it’s really helped me welcome uncertainty… the place where all writers go, willingly – or must go, fearfully. I also like what the poet Jason Allen-Paisant says: “at home, people see you with their whole body.”
RDK: What are you reading right now? Do your reading habits change depending on your writing projects?
SHR: I’m reading Shakespeare’s The Tempest. It’s not for any useful purpose, e.g., teaching, etc. I’ve surprised myself over the years with how much of a Shakespeare fan I’ve turned out to be. Sometimes other people and even strange books can’t answer questions about the relationship between writing and magic and love and cycles, and this is when I turn to Shakespeare.
Reading habits definitely change. I read writers’ notebooks and conversations with writers when working on my novel. I read short stories randomly, usually on the train or bus. I read the dark for poetry, as in literally sit in the dark, and just listen.
Please see shaziahafizramji.com for writing samples and offerings