This week I was lucky enough to cross paths with the creative mind of Jan Parker. I discovered that her involvement in the arts community past and present is extraordinary, that the more you are involved, the better artist you become, and that community is the silent partner of all our artistic endeavors. Her current involvements include NCWN, NC Writers’ Conference, the Authors Guild, the Arts Council of Carteret County, Bank of the Arts Craven County, the Renegades Writers, the Wildacres Artist in Residency Selection Committee and Fiction Editor for Main Street Rag.

Favorite book as a child and why?
I loved the Dick and Jane story book series we used in first grade because I could study four things at once: the illustrations, the symbols of the alphabet, the gathering of those symbols to make words, and the actual story itself. Man, a lot goes on in elementary school.

Favorite way to spend a Saturday afternoon?
Saturday afternoons are mostly like every other day—I’ve spent the whole morning either painting or writing in the studio, so look forward to chilling on the deck with a splash of wine and admiring the scenery of our beautiful Harlowe Creek.

What would you like readers to know about you?
Maybe that I’ve always valued paying it forward first—to the craft community (I am a trained professional potter,) the visual arts (of which I’ve been an active part of since 1990,) and literary arts (to which I’ve owed my professional allegiance since 2001.) Volunteerism is the best way for me to become involved more profoundly in the areas that I love. Otherwise, I can drown in the vacuum that’s left.

What are your favorite creative mediums?
My first and foremost creative medium is visual art. I particularly love working with acrylics to create large, indoor and outdoor paintings. Next, I love the written word. Thirdly, I love the combination of the two. (All created things tell a story, yes?)

What does literary success look like to you?
Literary success, hmmm, that’s a tricky thing. I’m currently at odds with the publishing world and all the hoops a writer has to jump through to have their work agented and hopefully produced by a reputable house in order for it to possibly be enjoyed and appreciated by others. (Anyone following the 2023 WGA strike?) That said: to write a piece and polish it, so it best represents the shining truth of my work is what literary success means to me.

When did you discover your love of writing?
First grade, with Dick and Jane, Sally and, of course, Spot, a dog I wanted for my very own.

What is your favorite writing genre?
My fave genre is fiction with a very close second being CNF.

What is your process for translating your inspiration into creation?
Visual arts: clearing away everything, readying the canvas, selecting the right paint, hanging the blank canvas, going at it till it’s done, framing it, and hanging the finished work . . . Literary arts is nearly the same: clearing my desk, seeing my journey’s end but writing it from the beginning, work every day until it’s done, rest from it for a while, and begin the rewrite.

How did you get involved with Main Street Rag?
I became involved with Main Street Rag in 2009 at the NC Writers Network Spring Conference at UNCG when I met M. Scott Douglass, a sassy Scotsman with a red headed attitude about everything. In 2010 when my poet friend, Malaika King Albrecht and I founded Third Thursday Open Mic Night for Poets and Writers, (because we wanted a showcase for ourselves and others to read original works where none was then available,) Main Street Rag became our sponsor for the next six years. Thanks to Scott, via his pro bono gift, we produced three anthologies, The Best of … all proceeds from which were donated to the fight against domestic violence.

When it comes to editing, what is the one thing that drives you crazy about submissions?
The one most irritating thing about receiving submissions is the cover letter that is way too casual, as if I’ve known the submitter since the beginning of time. The next thing is when a submitter does not follow our guidelines. When this happens, I automatically cull the submission as a no-read.

What words of advice would you like to share on creativity?
Human beings are creative things. It’s something we fail to avoid, mainly because we’ve been blessed with a free-range brain. So, the act of channeling this energy and disciplining this power, generates more energy, more power—both of which are vital elements in our search for authentic self and true belonging. Never mind had I gotten a dog named Spot I could have gotten there sooner. Ha.