Michael Cotter
Happy Friday, readers! Please join us in welcoming our new editors for the Spring 2015 semester. Today, our new featured editor is Assistant Poetry Editor Michael Cotter, who is responsible for the What Are You Watching? blog series. Michael is a senior at Lewis University working toward his BA in English, with a film studies minor. In rare moments of free time, Michael can be found watching TV. In cases of no free time, Michael will stay up all night to catch up on the 105 shows he is currently watching. Here’s our Q & A with Michael.
Who are you and what is your role in the Jet Fuel Review?
I’m Michael Cotter, and I’m the Assistant Poetry Editor at Jet Fuel Review.
What book might we find on your nightstand right now?
Currently Gone Girl is sitting on my nightstand begging to be read and has been, unfortunately, sitting there for a while. However, I also have The Book of Nightmares by Galway Kinnell sitting there too.
If you had the chance to co-write with one author, who would you choose? Why?
Oh gosh, this is hard. I’d love to write with Mindy Kaling simply because I find her personality to be so magnetic that writing in close proximity to someone I find so charming would be so fun. The same is to be said for Hilary Duff. Professionally, to work with someone in order to better my own work, I’d probably most like to work with Simone Muench. I admire the level of professionalism, insight, and profundity she puts into reading and writing poetry.
Describe your perfect reading atmosphere.
I can luckily read almost anywhere – from cars to beaches. I find myself most relaxed near water. My favorite spot to read is outside at my family’s lake house with a Diet Coke and a light breeze in the air.
What might your personal library look like?
Twirling staircases! Lots of windows! Books everywhere! With a fireplace and comfy chairs and blankets. I like this question. Not to mention, this magical library would not be far from a kitchen.
If you could “re-make” a poorly written movie that was based on a book, what movie would it be?
Okay, let the judgment fly, but I love The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks. I found Ronnie relatable and charismatic and was highly let down by the complexities of her character that were dropped in the Miley Cyrus film adaptation. I’d go back and rework the script to include the character’s connection to being misunderstood and the connections to music because it made the book so much more heartfelt.
What piece of literature can you reread over and over again?
Again, let the judgment fly, I’m a sucker for the Elixir series by Hilary Duff and–before you knock them as Hollywood-actress-trying-something-new-for-money books like Lauren Conrad–understand that she worked with a co-writer, so they aren’t awful. Plus I like the story – immortality, the elixir of life, soulmates, and such.
Give us a quote from your favorite (or any) book/movie.
“Even miracles take a little time.” – The Fairy Godmother from Cinderella
If you were invited to have coffee with any fictional character, who would you most like to meet? Why?
Carrie Bradshaw. I think she has the ideal life where she poses slightly philosophical questions pertaining to real life and journals about them and her journals turn into columns in the New York Star newspaper and those columns lead to her publishing books and working for Vogue and supporting her fun New York, slightly-famous, middle class lifestyle.
Share your top five favorite pieces of writing (anything included).
- All the songs off of the album “Trouble” by Bonnie McKee
- Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
- Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling
- The screenplay of Love & Other Disasters written (and directed) by Alek Keshishian
- The Nightmare Before Christmas original poem by Tim Burton
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Thanks for stopping by and getting to know Michael. Make sure to come back next week to meet another editor!
