The “Redemption 2021” Interviews: Stephen Brophy
There are many reasons why a story may be rejected from a literary publication. Submitting is about finding the right home for your writing; a “no” from one magazine can simply mean that your work would be better off at another journal. In spring 2021, we asked writers to submit their previously rejected prose pieces to our sixteenth issue, Redemption 2021, to remind all writers to keep submitting.
First Place winner Stephen Brophy recently discussed “The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon” with Rose Cohen, an intern at Silver Apples. (He also won CutBank’s 2021 Montana Prize in Fiction this year—go Stephen!). He answered questions about the inspiration behind “The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon”—a gorgeous, poignant short story about grief and hope—and about what he is currently writing.
Where are you from, where are you now, and how did you get from A to B? How did you arrive at writing short stories?
Stephen Brophy: I’m from Cork. In my twenties, I moved to Sydney with my partner for a year. That year turned into six. We moved home a few years ago to start a family. I wrote around forty thousand words of a novel in Sydney that, thankfully, nobody will ever see.
The process felt endless, and with short stories I liked the idea of having something complete to show for my effort. When I found short story writers like Kevin Barry, Colin Barrett, [and] Ottessa Moshfegh (the list could go on all day), I wanted to see if I could pull off anything close to what they do.
What inspired you to write “The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon”?
SB: I have a slight obsession with the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon (where you hear of something for seemingly the first time in your life, then hear a reference to it again in the following couple of hours or days).
It happened [to] me again only this week. I read a paragraph about the 18th century pirate Anne Bonny on the wall of an ice-cream shop in Kinsale, then, two days later, I heard Nuala O’ Connor in an interview say she was writing a novel about her. I don’t remember ever hearing of Anne Bonny before that.
In my story, these little things that seem like coincidences are presented as signs guiding Angie towards a way of dealing with her grief. As for building that idea around a grieving character, I couldn’t pinpoint where that came from.
If you could elicit one thing from your reader, what would it be?
SB: One of the biggest challenges in writing is to elicit empathy from readers. Once a reader feels empathy for a character, the rest should follow. They will laugh with them, cringe with them, and believe every emotion the character feels. Easier said than done, of course.
I would love to ask a question about a “The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon” quote that I love: “‘A woman after my own heart,’ said the driver, ‘Too many people are afraid of silence these days.’” Could you speak a bit about this sentence?
SB: Thanks. It’s not the most original thought, but it’s a prevalent idea for a reason. It’s a comment on addiction to social media, podcasts, apps, etc. The cab driver who says this line in the story is of a generation with the ability to wait for a bus with their arms folded and drift off into thought. Even when my generation attempt[s] to detach from the smartphone and sit still like this, it’s often with the help of a meditation app.
I find it really interesting that you picked running as a metaphor for dealing with grief. Can you tell me why you chose this image?
SB: It was a talent the character had that always made her feel at her best. She had dropped it and even blamed it for Darragh’s death. The idea of her returning to it in the end was a way to offer a glimmer of hope— a way for her to begin to reclaim her former self.
Describe the road from rejection to publication in Silver Apples Magazine. How many times had your story been rejected before winning? Did you make any changes to your story after initial rejections or rely on beta-readers or a creative writing support system for feedback?
SB: The story was rejected eight times, then in the same week won the Silver Apples’ Competition, and was shortlisted for the Listowel Writers’ Week Bryan MacMahon Short Story Award. I don’t have a circle of writers to share work with, which makes judging the level of my stories more difficult. The people I showed it to didn’t point out any major issues. So, any changes I made after the first rejection or two were just small tweaks to tighten up the prose.
Any advice for writers who were not selected for the shortlist in this competition?
SB: For me, feedback is crucial. Seek it out. If not from writers, then from readers you can trust. Once you’re happy with the level of the work, submit widely. I have a story at the moment that I strongly believe in which has racked up fifteen rejections so far. At the end of the day, it’s a matter of personal taste. Keep submitting and sooner or later your story will end up in front of the right set of eyes. (I'm no authority on this. These are just the things I tell myself.)
What does it look like where you write? What can you tolerate and not tolerate about that space?
SB: Ideally, I love to write on a riverbank near home, where I’ve invented a village to set my stories in, but time barely ever allows that. So, writing mostly happens surrounded by Lego[s] and dinosaurs and Paw Patrol toys when the kids are in bed or in my car on my lunch break.
Are you working on anything now? What?
SB: I’m working on a collection of 11 linked short stories set (mostly) in a fictional village in Cork’s Lee Valley. This includes “The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon.” Angie is from the village and shows up there in another story doing much better.
When did you start writing?
SB: Unlike most writers, I didn’t start reading fiction until I was 25. Until then, my creative energy went into playing guitar and drawing. Once I got lost in books, though, I was immediately compelled to write. My first efforts were embarrassing, and it’s taken 11 years of hard work to get to the point where I’m happy with my writing.