San Diego Memoir Writers Association President, Laura L. Engel interviews November Member of the Month – Sally Buffington
LE: Sally, how did you discover SDMWA?
SB: Through Writers Ink and through Marni Freedman and Jeniffer Thompson.
LE: Have you always been a writer?
SB: No, I started as a musician, with conservatory training in the flute; I taught flute and piano for thirty years but in midlife, I came to want to write instead. However, my Master’s Thesis in Music History concerned Mozart’s operas and how he used music to make the words and emotions of the script come alive! I have always been fascinated by both words and music.
LE: Have writing classes made a big impact on your writing?
SB: Both classes and private coaching have had about equal impact on my writing.
LE: Sally, we’d love to hear what you are working on these days.
SB: Right now, I am posting a short photo-essay about every 3-4 weeks, also developing a couple of longer essays. Please read my blog www.sallybuffington.com — I also take photographs every day and they feed my writing — the two pursuits interweave and energize me.
LE: Please tell us about your new book, A Place Like This: Finding Myself in a Cape Cod Cottage
SB: “A Place Like This” is for everyone who’s ever loved a house or great place. Mine is Craigville, a summer house into which I’ve grown over fifty years of summer visits; I married into the family which owned it. Through relationships, photography, the natural world, its Cape Cod location, — and the house itself, Craigville has loomed large in my life. It has become an unlikely Walden that I never expected to encounter, let alone find and love.
LE: What are some of your favorite Memoirs? Your favorite Authors?
SB: “This House of Sky” by Ivan Doig.” Drinking the Rain, by Alix Kates Shulman. “Dakota” by Kathleen Norris. Favorite authors: Robert Finch, Ruth Reichl, P.D. James, Barbara Pym, Elly Griffiths, Peter Robinson. Poetry by Mark Doty and Ted Kooser. Nonfiction by Erik Larson.
LE: How can our members find you? On Facebook? Your website? Instagram?
SB: Visit my website: www.sallybuffington.com
Facebook: Sally.W.BuffingtonAuthor also SallyBuffington
Instagram: sallybuffingtonauthor
LE: Any advice for new writers?
SB: This quotation has helped me greatly. “Courage! What you have to say is more important than your inadequacy at saying it.” Peter Davison.
LE: Thank you so much Sally and Congratulations for being chosen Member of the Month for November. SDMWA appreciates all you do and who you are. It’s a joy to write alongside of you!