Interview with Leta Semadeni

June 13, 2016

Leta Semadeni, born in 1944 in Scuol (Switzerland), lives and works as a freelance author in Lavin, Engadin in Switzerland. Semadeni writes prose and poetry. All her poems are written in both Rhaeto-Romanic and German. Semadeni’s latest bilingual volume of poems In mia vita da vuolp – In meinem Leben als Fuchs was published by Chasa Editura Rumantscha, Chur in 2010. For her lyric publication, she received the literary prize of the Canton Graubünden and the prize of the Schillerstiftung Switzerland in 2011. Tamangur, her first novel, won the Swiss Literature Prize in February 2016.

For information on Leta Semadeni's event on her poems and her novel Temangur with translator Tess Lewis, please click here.

1. What are you working on right now?

At the moment I’m hunting for “material” for my new novel. I have an idea of the basic framework but it’s still changing all the time. What is always useful for me is “material” that provides a solid structure. This can be a thousand small things: for instance how someone turns the corner or moves his hands while talking etc.

I’m an impulsive writer. Although I can make plans, they only help me indirectly because during the creative process I inevitably come to a point that was not planned, that cannot be planned. Therefore I gladly let myself be carried by my text.
Writing only comes to life if I deliberately sit in front of my computer and type, or if I open my notebook with a pen in my hand.

2. Can we see a picture of your current workspace?

My workspace is anywhere I am. All I need is a pen and a piece of paper. In a pinch, I can also use a napkin. I like working in the train. It’s as if the movement of the train also sets my thoughts in motion.
Yesterday, for example, I was working in Washington Square Park while a young man was playing the grand piano.

3. What work of yours are you most proud of?

I don’t like the word “proud“ in relationship to my writing. I’m proud of myself if I manage to overcome my inner demon to clean my windows. When I write, I don’t need to overcome an inner demon. Writing is, at best, a great pleasure and, at worst, an absolute need. It’s not just work, it’s a sort of aggregate state - a manner of how to perceive, interpret and understand the world.

4. What inspires you the most?

Basically everything. You never know exactly, or you are not fully aware of what actually triggers the impulse to write.
If you have your eyes open, with perked ears and a sharp mind and spirit everything or nothing can be inspiring. Sometimes it can be a human being, a movement. Another time it can be a word, a voice, a scent… Language is always inspiring to me. It is the big wonder  that still amazes me anew every day.

5. How is New York influencing your work?

That too is not so easy to define. Everything I see, hear, or experience enriches me and becomes part of my self. Anything can potentially find its way into a story. One thing is for sure, I’m not in NYC to write about NYC. I’m here to be. Writing is always a reflection and I don’t want to reflect on  New York right now, I want to experience it.

6. What is your favorite place in New York?

The neighborhood I live in right now. I feel at home here.

7. What are you hoping to gain from your stay here in New York that you can take with you back to Switzerland?

See above!

8. Where can people see more of your work?

Click on the links in order to find out more about my first novel Tamangur which has been awarded this year with the Schweizer Literaturpreis 2016.
Here you can find out more about me.

9. Anything else you would like to add?

On Monday, June 13, 6:30pm, I will have a reading at Deutsches Haus at NYU followed by a conversation with translator Tess Lewis.

We’d like to give a special thanks to Leta Semadeni for taking the time to answer our questions. This is the fourth interview in a series of interviews with the artists in residence. Follow the hashtag #SwissArtNYC on twitter and Instagram for more Swiss art in NYC!