Hunger Comes From Eating: An Interview with Leah Korican by Evangeline Lim
When I first read Leah Korican’s memoir in Split Lip, “Nancy,” I was hooked. The voice was magnetic, the emotion was palpable, and it made me fall in love with this magazine. Learning that Leah also lives in the Bay Area—where I’m currently based for college—felt like the perfect sign that this interview was meant to happen.
Leah Korican (she/her) is a writer and visual artist. She grew up in a hippie commune in the backwoods of Oregon, where everyone and no one was her parent. She’s currently writing a memoir about that experience and its aftermath. Her work has appeared in Split Lip Magazine, Heartwood Literary Magazine, and Literary Mama, among others, as well as in anthologies including Her Story (Shambhala). Her visual art has been exhibited nationally, including a 27-foot-long cut-paper installation in a skylight at the Nashville International Airport. Leah holds an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute, a BA from UC Berkeley, lives and works in Oakland, California, and teaches art to endlessly inspiring children. You can see more of her work at www.leahkorican.com.
Leah’s life honestly seems so interesting to me—not only because of the sheer uniqueness of growing up in a hippie commune, but because of how that experience continues to ripple through her art and writing. So, she and I chatted about just that—among other things.
Evangeline Lim: What’s one random object in your art studio or writing space that always makes you smile?
Leah Korican: I have a chunk of serpentine rock from the land where I grew up on my windowsill. It’s a beautiful turquoise-blue color and super smooth and soft. Just looking at it is very grounding and makes me feel connected to the earth and my past.
EL: That sounds lovely! I imagine it must feel very comforting indeed. Speaking of your past, I want to talk about your memoir “Nancy.” It totally captivated me, although I must admit, when I first read it I fully thought it was a flash fiction. After rereading it (multiple times because I enjoy it so much), I realized it was a memoir. That discovery gave me a completely different perspective and an even deeper appreciation for the piece. Why did you choose to tell this story from the perspective of your ten-year-old self? What did that vantage point allow you to reveal or obscure about Nancy and about yourself?
LK: I love that you thought it was fiction! Every memoirist wants to write a memoir that reads like a novel, and that was definitely part of why I chose to write from my ten-year-old perspective. I hope the reader feels immersed in the conflicting emotions that the child me experiences as I awaken to the dangers and constraints of being a woman. In the story, I blame Nancy for what happened to her, and of course, the adult reader realizes it is much more nuanced than that, but also, recognizes why a child would push Nancy away to feel protected from danger. I hope it creates an uneasy moment of recognition in the reader of a larger dynamic that impacts girls and women.
EL: It definitely created an uneasy moment for me, and that might have been my favorite part about it. Were there any parts of this memory you struggled to remember clearly, or felt unsure about representing?
LK: You know, I remembered the incident vividly. The feeling of moving from excitement about her adventure to fear and revulsion was all there. The challenge was to convey that succinctly to the reader, so a lot of the writing process was paring things down.
EL: Got it, that makes sense. I hear you're currently working on another memoir about growing up in rural Oregon. Is memoir a genre you're typically drawn to writing? How do you recognize which moments from your life are worth turning into stories?
LK: Yes, “Nancy” is an excerpt from a book-length memoir in progress! I wrote only poetry for many years. I was trying to write a memoir in poems when a writer friend suggested I try prose. I’ve always loved reading creative nonfiction, but felt intimidated by sentences. Once I started, I found myself captivated by writing prose. It’s like the most fun, brain-breaking puzzle ever to use words, sentences, paragraphs, and chapters to bring someone into your experience. I have fallen in love with creative nonfiction.
As for which moments to choose, I have been focusing on the seven years of my childhood spent living on a backwoods commune, and really the moments choose me. Once I start writing, I begin to understand why that story is emerging, and I keep following the thread until it becomes clear, both in terms of a vivid depiction and the emotional truth behind it. There’s an Italian saying “La fame viene mangiando” which means “Hunger comes from eating,” and storytelling is like that. The story comes from the telling. You take a few bites and before you know it, you’ve eaten a whole meal!
EL: I love that! I’ve never heard of that saying before but I’m really going to remember it moving forward—it’s so true.
Switching gears, you're both a visual artist and a writer. Do those two creative processes ever inform or inspire each other? What does visual art allow you to express that writing doesn’t, and vice versa?
LK: Different ways of creating definitely overlap and inform each other. Visual imagery emerges in my writing, and often text has appeared in my visual art. Much of my visual art stems from childhood experiences in nature and the desire to give the viewer a sensory experience. In writing, I am much more direct with narrative and story. Both types of expression attempt to share experiences, create connection, and communicate. I do think I wasn’t ready to write directly about my childhood when I was younger, and in some ways visual art was a safe and soothing way to create. Now that I am older, I feel ready to share stories more directly through words!
EL: Ahhh, gotcha. It’s so interesting that two forms of creative expression can be so similar yet so different. I’m glad you’re ready to share your stories with words now, as I definitely love to read it!
I also want to say, it was super cool to find out you went to UC Berkeley—I’m currently a student there! And it’s great that you’re still local in Oakland. What are some of your favorite things to do in the Bay Area?
LK: I’m a Berkeley native! My parents were immigrants, and I was born here while my father was in law school. I came and went throughout my later childhood and then came back for college and never left.
I love that we have access to both so much art and so much nature here. Have you ever gone for a walk in Mountain View cemetery? It was designed by Olmsted, who also designed Central Park. I have a plot there which I visit sometimes to remind myself of my mortality! There were eagles nesting nearby off Moraga Road recently, and it was amazing to see them and talk with the birders who are so generous with their knowledge. I have to mention Mercury 20 Gallery (an artists’ co-op of which I am a member) in downtown Oakland and the always inspiring Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. And of course, the East Bay has the best weather, bagels, and independent bookstores around.
EL: How cool! I love the art and nature here as well, it’s the perfect blend of city and scenery. I haven’t been to Mountain View cemetery, but it sounds intriguing. I might have to plan an excursion there once I get back on campus.
Finally, I want to know: What's been the most memorable thing a student has said to you while teaching art?
LK: My students are so inspiring! Seeing the way they create, their immersion in the process, fuels my belief in the human imagination. On the wall of my art room, I have an index card a student made for me that says “Paint your way through the dark” with a line drawing of a paintbrush. Everytime I read it, it makes me believe in the power of the creative process.
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Evangeline Lim (@ev.angline) is currently pursuing English and Media Studies at the University of California Berkeley. She is an intern at Split Lip Magazine and a weekender staff-writer at The Daily Californian. Outside of reading and writing, she loves trying new restaurants, watching romcoms, and her pet turtle, Murdtle.