How She Revels: Carla Sarett

Age: 68

Location: San Francisco 

What Do you Do For Work: 

Well, life surprises us.  I never took college courses in writing or even kept a journal; and I enjoyed success as a market researcher.  But a few months after my mother's death, in 2009, a NYC friend became ill (I was her healthcare proxy, but I lived in Philly.)  I wrote a number of short pieces and read them over the phone to her; and those became my first publications.  

Once I started writing, I could not stop. Plus, I liked getting the work published (which some people fear.)  My husband's death  in late 2018 steered my writing in a different direction which led me to my novella "The Looking Glass" as well as poetry.  

As far as age:  many authors like Penelope Fitzgerald blossomed after 60.  When I was younger, honestly, I didn't have much to say.  
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Who is your favorite poet?

This year, the great beat poet Diane di Prima died.  For years, di Prima was overshadowed by Ginsberg and the guys, but happily people are discovering her. The directness combined with her sophistication...I feel like she's talking to me.  This poem is great, and here is another favorite. City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco keeps her work in print, and this book's a gem.
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Who is your current favorite artist? 

Scottish landscape artist Joan Eardley is a current obsession.  She died young, but slowly her work has gained an  international reputation. She's got this uncanny palette that lends her images a freshness.  Read this about her!
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What are you most looking forward to in 2022? 

I’m excited to see two of my books published in 2022.  One, my comic novel, A Closet Feminist comes out in February, and it shows my funny side.  And the other, my first full-length collection of poetry, "She Has Visions" is slated for November.  I hope life's open enough so I can do readings.  (And oh, maybe move from SF.)
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Current pet peeve?

Yup, I have a bias against the current trend toward present tense in literary fiction.  It just feels mannered. 
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Last great cultural event you attended/book you read/movie you saw? 

Take your pick:

1. Joan Mitchell exhibit at SF Moma, amazing.  Her use of color is thrilling, especially in the large paintings. 
   

2. Book: Barbara Weisberg's Talking to the Dead:  Kate and Maggie Fox and the Rise of Spiritualism.  I am fascinated with seances and psychic matters, a page turner!  
   

3. Movie: I am a film noir addict, so recently re-watched Ann Sheridan in Woman on the Run, one of the few noirs with a female lead.  It's shot on location in SF in black and white,  fabulous.  
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Any regrets?

I don't see life that way, so no. Well...maybe the orange Patrick Kelly dress I didn't buy.   

Favorite beauty hack?

I use one oil for my hands, body, nails, face, and hair.  I use it to clean my face too.  Since I am allergic to most stuff, it's a godsend!