Today we’d like to introduce you to Diana Elizabeth Clarke.
Hi Diana Elizabeth, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I relocated to the Baltimore area from Southern Utah this year to expand on knowledge and work on my craft as a MFA candidate for Creative Writing & Publishing Arts at The University of Baltimore (UB). So far, I have found Baltimore to be a whirlwind of inspiration from the uniqueness and character of each neighborhood to the community atmosphere of Charm City.
Like many writers, I am working actively to creatively show the world in a new perspective to readers. The narratives I write are women-centered fiction, which are stories focusing on how a women navigate this world and fantasy worlds that reflect our own.
I’ve had the passion for writing at a young age, where I was motived to write my first book at the age of eight. Since then, I embarked on a long journey of an artistic self-discovery and growing my creative skillset. In 2020, I graduated from Utah Valley University (UVU) with a Bachelor in English with Creative Writing Emphasis. It was at UVU where I received my first professional in-print publications for prose and poetry in the literary journals Touchstones and Warp & Weave.
Below is a list of my current publication credits:
– The UVU Review, Staff Writer for Arts & Culture, Articles (2016 – 2017)
– “The Writing Chamber,” HorrorAddicts.net, Articles (2018)
– “The Masquerade Killer,” Warp & Weave, Short Story (2019)
– “She Is Only Scared,” Touchstones: A Journal of Literature and Art, Poetry (2019)
– “Dead Hearts,” Warp & Weave, Short Story (2020)
– “I Was A Ballerina,” Touchstones: A Journal of Literature and Art, Poetry (2020)
– “Swipe Right If You Dare,” JeanJacques Productions, Short Film (2020); officially selected for the 2020 Frostbite International Indie Fest. Along
– “The Christmas Poet,” JeanJacques Productions, Short Film (2020)
I have optimistic horizons for my future career as I intend to use my graduate education to not only publish my work but to also grow a literary publishing business. As an aspiring literary entrepreneur, I believe every person has the ability to become creative and share their story; I will work to provide them an outlet to do so.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Life always has bumps and obstacles as you work toward your dream, and mine has been no different. For me personally, it took many years of practicing and reflection until I finally discovered what kind of writer I am. A dear professor of mine, Karen Anderson, once told me, “Writing is not a talent. It’s a skill.” I’ve taken this piece of advice by heart as I strive to work daily on my writing so I can be at my strongest for my craft.
Although my publication credit list is rather short compared to other writers in the industry, I am proud of the accomplishments I’ve made so far and I’m confident my publication career with grow within the next few years. One of the largest struggles any writer experiences is the rejections from publishers, agents, magazines, etc. I’ve, of course, have had my far share. But despite the number of rejection letters or even lack of response from submissions, I strive to continue working on my publication career and currently have a number of publication submissions in review and awaiting response.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Over the years, I have dabbled in a variety of art forms from dance choreography, film creation to writing fiction. However, despite the various artwork I’ve created in the past, my work is centered around telling the stories of women (both fictional and non-fictional). It’s a difficult task to name a particular work that I am most proud of because I am grateful for all the opportunities I have had thus far to showcase my work.
In 2019, I co-founded FUSE: A Festival of Dance, Poetry, and Prose with the artistic director of Atlas Dance Collective. This festival was dedicated to providing an environment for artists to collaborate with each other and fuse various art forms together. I had a particular interest for premiering this creative concept with the festival because I personally practice this with my own work. For example, my piece “The Fat Box”—which won the Audience Choice Award at FUSE’s Adjudication Gala and was hand-selected to perform at Mudson presented by loveDANCEmore—combines choreographic dance and spoken word of a memoir piece I wrote.
I’ve also fused other artistic talents of mine in pieces of work as I combined my music skillset with story crafting, dance choreography, and film creation. Throughout 2020 and 2021, I worked on choreographing, directing, and producing a screen dance called “Drowning.” This piece includes an original orchestral score composed by myself and performed by a dear friend and violinist, Jon Kahananui. This piece, which was filmed at Utah Lake in Provo, UT, has special meaning for me as it was directly inspired by my personal experience of dealing with anxiety. I portray my journey of dealing with mental illness through dance fabric and water manipulation. As a creator and artist, I firmly believe that vulnerability can be an asset during the process of art creation.
In addition to my fuse-method of art creation, what I believe makes my work stand apart is my use of Weatherlore. During my undergraduate career, I developed a new form of literary criticism I refer to as Weatherlore, which is the analysis of narrative themes, metaphors, and characterization through weather imagery. I find myself to be strongly inspired with weather elements when crafting fiction and embed the essence of Weatherlore within my creative works.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I don’t believe luck has anything to do with defining success. What makes an artist successful is determination and hard work. I remind myself of this as I work toward achieving my dreams and attempt to get my work seen by audiences of readers, watchers, listeners, etc. If I never work hard to get my artwork seen, then audiences will never know of my work.
There may be some luck involved with grabbing the attention of literary agents or publishers, but I don’t believe that is what defines the success of an artist. There are plenty of successful writers who have self-published and broken away from the industry’s traditional means; they’ve made their own success without relying on luck.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://dianaelizclarke.wixsite.com/writer
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/writerdianaelizabeth/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/writerdianaelizabeth
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/DianaElizC
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj_98-D5CRRF4yNN6H1jp6A
Image Credits
Amanda Farnsworth (“Drowning” artwork photographer) Timothy Bolton (photographer of black and white photos) Adam Ramos (purple trees photographer) Skye Olsen (UVU graduation photographer)
