Kay Sohini, Class of ’22
Kay Sohini will be holding a book talk about her new Graphic Novel This Beautiful, Ridiculous City this upcoming Fall Semester sponsored by the Department of English
When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
I have wanted to be a writer all my life. I did not know that I wanted to make comics up until maybe five years ago. Inspired by Nick Sousanis, I drew my doctoral dissertation as a comic, and started working on my first book This Beautiful, Ridiculous City the same year I graduated.
What led you to writing Graphic Novels specifically?
Drawing autobiographical comics is the closest you can get to seeing an overview of your life, see it from another perspective. It offers some sort of a distance, even as you are intimately engaging with the subject for months on end while making the book. There is a certain unique efficacy in relying on two modes of communication, especially in the comics medium where there’s a certain time space magic going on. And in my case, using words and pictures together to recall an event and conjure it from the depths of your memory, even as it tries to slip away, was something that set apart this medium from others.
What is the best/most frustrating/most challenging/most satisfying part of being a writer?
Getting to write for a living is such a privilege, I do not take it lightly. I work from home most of the time, which means I get to spend hours on end sitting in the Sun by my very large window that looks over the city. . I guess the challenging part is that it can be a precarious spot to be in if you come from modest means. It does not necessarily have the stability of a 9-5. I make a decent living off it for the time being, but there’s no way to tell what the future will bring.
How did your PhD/Stony Brook help you on your track to becoming a writer? Do you feel that getting a PhD helped you on your journey?
I am immensely grateful to my Professors in Stony Brook, especially Dr Jeffrey Santa Ana, Dr Lisa Diedrich and Dr Peter Khost, who encouraged me early on to experiment with how I present my research. In my dissertation, “Drawing Unbelonging” my goal was to engage the sociopolitical through the lens of the personal. One of the things I focused on was to draw attention to the temporal and spatial scale of climate change and show how it disproportionately affects marginalized communities. I used art to combine my interest in public health and climate change, and to explore how belonging is usually tied to the trouble of conforming, rather than to the issue of a geographical space. The PhD taught me how to distill complex information into engaging stories and laid the foundation for the writing career I have today.
This Beautiful, Ridiculous City would have never happened without my dissertation “Drawing Unbelonging” and the space I was allowed to experiment, and most importantly, learn through practice. The dissertation committee I had was truly the absolute best.
What is a favorite memory or experience of your time at SBU?
Strangely, I think it is the day I took my comprehensive exam and advanced to doctoral candidacy. It was a wonderful experience thanks to my committee.
What advice would you give to someone who is interested in becoming a writer?
Just write. Do not let yourself be overwhelmed by the bigger picture, your first objective is to put enough words on paper. It can be difficult to get a foot in the door, but there are people who are willing to be generous with their time and mentorship. When you are beginning, your only focus should be the craft. Write as much as you can, and read more than you write. Read widely, not just in the 1-2 genres that appeal to you. Read both contemporary works and classics.
With a little luck, the rest will fall into place.