Thirty West Revisited: Beck Anson

A debut, award-winning chapbook and how one gets there.

Introducing the Afterimages interview series, “Thirty West Revisited.”  This series, run by Ollie Shane, interviews past and future authors from Thirty West’s vast catalog. Within, you shall experience inspiration for their writing, the process behind crafting their books, and what projects they are working on next. 

---

Beck Anson is the author of Blossom Boy (Thirty West Publishing, 2023), which was the winner of the 7th Annual Wavelengths Chapbook Contest. It is currently open for preorder and will be released on August 30th. Featured in the chapbook, is the poem, “I Admit Myself To the Psych Ward in a Pandemic,” which was a finalist for the 2020 Rattle Poetry Prize.  

Ollie Shane: What got you into writing? Who are some inspirations for you?

Beck Anson: I think I began my writing journey at age six when I conjured a reflection of myself in a handmade, stapled-together “book about me.” On the cover was a self-portrait drawn in crayon wearing black and blue shorts and a t-shirt with two lines intersecting, denoting a flat chest. In the world around me, I thought I couldn’t grow up beyond the gender assigned to me at birth. Nowadays, I write because I cannot afford to do otherwise. Writing is my prayer, meditation, expression, and portal into my sorrows, hopes, and dreams. Writing, for me, is about connection and reimagination—I can re-envision my experience of the self through language, attempting, in a way, to pin down a feeling, a memory, or a ghost into words that come alive in the reader or listener’s mind, forming a connection. Queering language is at the heart of my practice—so is transformation, evolution, and interweaving narratives. A writer whose body of work has inspired and influenced my self-discovery, as well as the development of my craft, is Thomas Page McBee, whose exquisite narratives Amateur and Man Alive speak to the experience of being transmasculine and show how masculinity can be embodied without shame or violence but with love, compassion, and acceptance.

OS: What was it like getting into and engaging with the writing community? What are its benefits and challenges?

BA: My main entry point into the wider writing community was at the beginning of the pandemic when I took a series of workshops with slam poet Megan Falley called “Poems That Don’t Suck.” In those workshops, I was able to connect with other writers from around the globe, both inside and outside of the virtual classroom. Through “Poems That Don’t Suck” and other workshops, I have made close friends who are also some of the best editors of my work. Receiving honest feedback is crucial for any writer, and it’s wonderful to be able to share some very rough drafts with people I’ve come to know from across the world. Submitting poems is a challenge because it requires an amount of vulnerability to have your work read by others, and face the potential of rejection. I like to use rejection letters as fuel for my next submission and don’t take it as a reflection of the quality of my work. 

OS: Where did you come up with the idea for your poetry chapbook?

BA: Blossom Boy as a collection came together during the pandemic. However, most of the poems were written throughout my journey across gender, beginning with my decision to start hormone replacement therapy in 2017, as referenced in the poem “Self Portrait as Body in Motion.” In Blossom Boy, I hope to convey the emotional landscape of my body as it moves toward a more masculine expression of gender. By writing through my transition, I’ve come to know intimately what it means to inhabit a body that is more aligned with how I’ve always viewed myself.

OS: How was it working with Thirty West in your work?

BA: Working with Thirty West has been an incredible experience from the start, from receiving the acceptance letter to working with Senior Managing Editor, Chanel Martins, on edits to the manuscript. While working with the team at Thirty West, I feel as though Blossom Boy is reaching its full potential as a collection, and know that my work is being held with utmost care and attention.

OS: What has been the reception of your work from the wider writing community? 

BA: My work has been described by others as “heartfelt, emotional, descriptive, lovely, green forests and lakes, intense, slice-of-life.” 

OS: What upcoming/current projects have you put out?

BA: I’m currently trying to publish another chapbook-length manuscript, Superbloom, that follows my emotional journey as I wander through the grief of losing a friend and mentor to suicide. The manuscript also examines my own experience as someone with a mental health condition. Much like Blossom Boy, I lean heavily on the natural world as a mirror for the human condition in this new project.

OS: Any advice for the readers of Afterimages?

BA: If you are just starting your writing journey and want to submit your work, there are plenty of literary journals and presses to submit to, so just keep trying. If you can, try taking a workshop with writers you admire, find community with other writers, and continue to edit and revise your work. It’s easy to feel defeated by rejections but know that it is not a reflection of the nature of your work. Sometimes it just isn’t the right fit. Keep writing, keep telling your story

---

Blossom Boy, the debut chapbook by Beck Anson, will be released on August 30th, 2023. We cannot wait for you to read it.