Suzanne: My interview with Leza Lowitz
My fellow American-expatriate Leza Lowitz came to Japan around the same time that I did. I met her after finding her name in a literary journal and writing a letter to invite her to submit to an anthology of expat fiction I’d cooked up. She was extremely helpful. She contributed a story to my anthology, The Broken Bridge: Fiction from Exptriates in Literary Japan, and passed on the names and addresses of other expat writers that she knew.
Since then, Leza has gone on to publish an amazing fifteen books (!) to my three. These include translations, anthologies, poetry collections, and a short story collection. She’s also written a screenplay and won an impressive array of grants and awards. Right now she’s working on a memoir about adopting a Japanese child in Japan, yoga poems, and a novel or two.
My interview with Leza is now online here.
Studio Mothers: Life & Art 
I enjoyed reading your interview, Suzanne–thanks for sharing. Leza’s story underscores the importance of staying plugged in to a network of some kind–and also the value of “going with the flow.” It seems like she could do almost anything.
I’d also like to highlight the point that since she’s become a mother, Leza doesn’t watch much TV. She needs that time for creative work. Many of the creative women I’ve interviewed for my book really struggled with TV watching. It’s hard, at the end of the day when you’re exhausted, not to hit the couch. But the evening is over once you do. I was surprised by how many women watch more TV than they want to. For those who struggle with this, try skipping one night a week to start–you may find that initially forcing yourself to be creative instead of zoning out actually ends up becoming a source of energy. TV is not restorative! (Rant over…)