Anelise Farris had the opportunity to chat with Katie Damron, the new poetry editor for Black Rock & Sage. Katie reveals what her biggest fear is, how she spends her free-time, and who she’d like to invite to a dinner party. She also offers some great advice for aspiring artists and art enthusiasts. Check out the Q&A below!

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1. What three traits define you?

Imaginative, open-minded, and sophisticated.

2. What’s one thing you couldn’t live without?

My iPhone! I know that sounds very millennial and material, but I use my phone for instant communication with friends and family, and I couldn’t live without having that.

3. What is your greatest fear?

Outer space! It’s vast and volatile and extremely unknown to us. And once you’re up there, it’s hard to come home. Movies about space give me anxiety!

4. Where is your favorite place to be?

I don’t know if I have a favorite place to be, but I definitely have favorite people to be places with.

5. What is your favorite thing to do?

I love to write and cook…and I love being with my friends and family.

6. Where is the best place you have ever visited? Why?

I recently went to San Francisco for the first time, and it was so great! I loved the city and the people I met there. It’s unlike any other place I’ve been.

7. What would be your ideal career?

I would love to do creative work for a magazine. Being a creative director with writing responsibilities at a fashion or lifestyle magazine would be my dream job.

8. What is your favorite book, movie, and band?

My favorite book and movie is The Godfather. (Seriously, if you haven’t read The Godfather, you are missing out on the best book!) And my favorite band is Bleachers.

9. What is something that might surprise us about you?

I love hockey! I don’t like to play, but I love watching the sport. My favorite team is the Philadelphia Flyers.

10. What is your favorite quote?

“Life is a flower here, a flower there, but rarely a bouquet.” (Not sure who said this…)

11. If you could have a dinner party with ANY three people (dead or alive), who would they be and why?

Ashley Ford is this super cool writer based out of NYC, but she’s from the Midwest. She has the most interesting perspectives on race, travel, mental health, social media, relationships, creative processes, money, etc. I’d love to meet her.

Shonda Rhimes. That woman is a creative genius and I want to know everything about her creative process.

Nina Garcia was the creative director at Marie Claire magazine for a long time, and I fell in love with her aesthetic and voice in her writing. Now she has taken the job as editor-in-chief at Elle, and I can’t wait to see what she does there.

12. If you had to eat one meal every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?

I love BBQ food, so if I had to eat BBQ for the rest of my life, I wouldn’t complain.

13. If Hollywood made a movie about your life, who would you like to                   see cast as you?

Kate Mara! We don’t look anything alike, but I love her acting style and she’s a very elegant woman.

14. If you were an animal what would you be?

Probably an alligator. They live in warm tropical places and are very fierce.

15. If you were stuck on an island, what three things would you bring?

My best friend! Matches. And a boat to get home when I’m ready to leave.

16. If you could have a superpower, what would it be?

I would choose invisibility. I’d use the power to avoid waiting. For instance, if I were invisible, I could walk to the front of the line at Disneyland.

17. What kinds of hobbies and interests do you have outside of work?

I love to cook; I watch an embarrassing amount of makeup tutorials; and, more recently, I’ve been doing some outdoorsy things and learning to love them.

18. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I’d like to move out of Pocatello and experience a different area. Hopefully I have a job I love! And hopefully I still have time to write.

19. Do you have any favorite literary magazines/publications that you’d like to give a shout out to?

Subtropics is a pretty cool lit mag I picked up last semester and have enjoyed.

20. Do you have any advice for aspiring artists and literary magazine editors?

Be patient with yourself! Everyone is constantly learning and evolving, even the experts.