It’s time to introduce another new editor through our Meet the Editors series, an editor who has been making a presence through Open Mic Nights at Lockport’s Port Noir. This week we are introducing Zachary Klozik, our Asst. Poetry Editor and Asst. Fiction Editor.
Zachary is a junior at Lewis University, majoring in English Creative and Professional Writing. On campus, he also works as a tutor for the Writing Center. Zachary especially enjoys reading and writing poetry. His favorite author is Jhonen Vasquez and that is why one of his favorite television shows is Invader Zim. He also loves Vasquez’s graphic novel Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. Zachary likes to spend a lot of his free time listening to music and watching movies. His favorite genre is science fiction which is why some of his favorite movies are Donnie Darko and A Scanner Darkly.
Below is our Q&A with Zachary Klozik:
Who are you and what is your role in the Jet Fuel Review?
I am Zachary Klozik, and my role in the Jet Fuel Review is Assistant Poetry Editor.
What book might we find on your nightstand right now?
On the shelf in my room I have Orwell’s 1984 sitting next to Glukhovsky’s Metro 2033. There are a lot of other books but those are currently on top of the pile.
If you had the chance to co-write with one author, who would you choose? Why?
It would be Jhonen Vasquez. I love the satire in his comic books and his television shows. I would love to work alongside him and help write an edgy story with him bringing his sharp illustrations to compliment it. I would also love to meet him in general. There are many questions that I would like to ask about his life and career.
Describe your perfect reading atmosphere.
I like to read alone and in silence. I really have a hard time reading with people around. If they are talking then I will most likely start listening in on their conversation and lose track of the book, and when I used to try and read in public I would often get distracted thinking about how I looked as I read. And if the passersby were judging my taste of literature.
What might your personal library look like?
Probably, a lot of music CDs. I never really got into that whole vinyl thing that the hipster kids jumped on, but I do like to buy CDs still. When it comes to books, I guess anything that will make me look intelligent. If I can have a personal library someday like Gatsby and have some guy in owl glasses ogle at my selection then I have climbed much too far up the social ladder.
If you could “re-make” a poorly written movie that was based on a book, what movie would it be?
This is a weird one, but I would remake the movie Dragonlance. I really liked the book series, but the animated film that came out of it is pretty terrible. It would not be animated in my version. I think you could make those books into a Lord of the Rings type film that could be pretty amazing.
What piece of literature can you reread over and over again?
Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis. It is one of the few stories that I have actually read many times over and I have enjoyed it every time.
Give us a quote from your favorite (or any) book/movie.
“It’s easy to win” – A Scanner Darkly
If you were invited to have coffee with any fictional character, who would you most like to meet? Why?
I don’t drink coffee, but I guess I would hang out with Invader Zim. I really want our meeting to be one of those awkward ones where a cartoon character is talking with people in real life. I really just imagine the two of us not speaking and sipping on our drinks until Zim chokes on his because he can’t digest Earthling food. It would be funny.
Share your top five favorite pieces of writing (anything included, be it movies, books, etc.).
- Catcher in the Rye
- Apocalypse Now
- Donnie Darko
- A Scanner Darkly
- Metamorphosis