Smoking With Kyle Hemmings by Meg Pokrass Epilogue by Joaquin Villaverde via Creative Commons license Can you talk a little about your piece? What inspired you to write Gertie? Yes. I was thinking about the past lately, my own past, and how some people who you haven't seen in ages, or will never see again, can never vanish from your imagined life. How they still exert a strong influence on you from some time long ago, or maybe, not so long ago. But even though they're not "real"� as far as the present is concerned, they are very much there, aren't they? Is the character of Gertie based on any specific character in your own life? No, I would say she is a composite of nice and not so nice authority figures in my youth and the child molestation bit was something thrown in, but very crucial to the narrator's feeling of being uprooted, of being aimless, having this heavy baggage to carry. By the way, in an earlier version, I had this taking place around the time of the second world war to give it both a sense of urgency, but also to give it that post-war sense of uprooted-ness, of values being cast aside, of railroads never reaching destinations. Why did you end this piece on an ambiguous note with Gertie thinking of the sea. Well, I wanted the reader to interpret this anyway they like, but I think at the end the sea for Gertie means there are other possibilities, perhaps a life of travel, or different ways of relating to people.I don't see her as totally evil, as she has lost her husband and has her own baggage to contend with. But you can see the effect of the damage from this relationship on the narrator. But like so many things in life, those that inflict damage get away, and the victims keep suffering. Life is unfair and often cruel. As you wrote the piece, did you judge Gertie? Do you sit apart from judgment toward an abusive character... as the creator? Yes, I suppose I sit away a bit. I don't see Gertie as evil, as she has lost her husband and has her own baggage to contend with. But you can see the effect of the damage from this relationship on the narrator. But like so many things in life, those that inflict damage get away, and the victims keep suffering. Life is unfair and often cruel. In a previous interview with Smokelong, you said your favorite album of all time was Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys. Is that still true? Let me revise that somewhat. I think the best album of all time was Love's Forever Changes. Pet Sounds was one of the best albums of all time. Read Gertie. Issue Twenty-Eight (July 25, 2010): Young Waitresses by Steve Almond «» Frank by Matt Baker «» The Life and Times of Dmitri Kulikov by Tobias Amadon Bengelsdorf «» Scapegoat by Thomas Cooper «» What You Could Catch Me Bumping by Craig Davis «» Complicit by Gay Degani «» What You See When You Think of Home by John Mark DeMoss «» In the Attic by Murray Dunlap «» A Flower Thing by Jen Gann «» Seahorse Sex by Molly Giles «» Gertie by Kyle Hemmings «» Vertigo by Ann Hillesland «» Rock by Stephanie Johnson «» A Shot of Whatever by David LaBounty «» Palo Alto by Paul Lisicky «» The Lake House by Michelle McMahon «» Hell Is a Headline by Emily McPhillips «» How I Liked the Avocados by Wendy Oleson «» Regrets by Bridget Pelkie «» What Passes for Normal by Michelle Reale «» Avalanche by Joseph Scapellato «» Last Seen Leaving by Laura Ellen Scott «» Explicable by Sabrina Stoessinger «» A Fistful of Buttercups by Nancy Stebbins «» My Maggie by Eugenia F. Tsutsumi «» The Ghost by Russell Whitaker «» The Strain of Collusion by xTx «» Interviews: Steve Almond «» Matt Baker «» Tobias Amadon Bengelsdorf «» Thomas Cooper «» Craig Davis «» Gay Degani «» John Mark DeMoss «» Murray Dunlap «» Jen Gann «» Molly Giles «» Kyle Hemmings «» Ann Hillesland «» Stephanie Johnson «» David LaBounty «» Michelle McMahon «» Emily McPhillips «» Wendy Oleson «» Bridget Pelkie «» Michelle Reale «» Joseph Scapellato «» Laura Ellen Scott «» Nancy Stebbins «» Sabrina Stoessinger «» Eugenia F. Tsutsumi «» xTx «» Cover Art "Wall Street Must Be Tripping" by Marty D. Ison «» Letter From the Editor Interested in subscribing to SmokeLong's weekly newsletter? Click here. An email should be created. Send it as is, and you'll be subscribed. If the link does not work for you, send an email to imailsrv@smokelong.com with Subscribe slq-info in the body of the email (no subject is necessary). You'll receive updates detailing the release of new issues, new reading periods, contests, etc. We do not make our mail list available to anyone else.