Interview #4: Erin McTigue “Changes”

What inspired you to create your piece?

“I love music (part of being a music major), and I love finding ways to incorporate it in my writing. I am particularly interested in the development of certain styles of music through the ages, and the way the style develops with cultural changes. As a result, I wrote a series of short stories that take place from 1920 to 2020, all within the same underground jazz bar, Harmatz’. "Changes" is the final part of this series, and I took advantage of the modern day to write a bit of my own story into the main character. I wanted to capture the feeling of leaving the safety of your home, only to be thrust into a world unlike everything you’ve ever known. I was also interested in the feeling most college students have when they don’t know their next steps, and are still attached to where they came from, while trying to move beyond their parents’ expectations and opinions to pave their own paths. In general, my own preparation to move beyond college, explored through the medium of music, inspired this piece.”

What is your favorite part of your piece?

“My favorite part of “Changes” is when Olivia talks about her brother on their last night together before she goes off to college. Calum is heavily based off my own brother, and some of their conversations in the story genuinely did occur between my brother and I. (Namely where he said he wouldn’t call me… which was the truth. The only time my brother called during my first semester of college was to ask where the vacuum was.)”

What did creating your piece mean to you?

“I see this poem as a collage, of sorts, of my own childhood memories and some of my parents’. Every time I visited my Dad's family in Ohio, for example, I would hike in Mill Creek, play pool in my grandparents’ basement, and run around in their backyard. While this poem is essentially about a sinkhole swallowing everything up, I wanted it to be fun and to be a collection of memories, places, and history.”