Interview with Brilliant Novelist and Reader, Zary Fekete

Zary Fekete is a Hungarian author who has worked around the world and has an affinity for writing. He has been published in many literary magazines, has published the novelette In The Beginning, and has a chapbook of his work out with Alien Buddha Press. In 2024 his debut novella Words on the Page will be released through DarkWinter Lit Press. Fekete featured in Papers Publishing as an author of an Our Dream Journal entry, Mushroom Searching, and as the section is coming to a close, we spoke to him about his writing ad his reason for submitting a dream.

Rian: Hello and thank you for speaking with me today Zary. You’re the first author we’ve spoken with who has solely been published through the Our Dream Journal section, without also having a regular Open Book Feature. How different was the original dream you had that became Mushroom Searching? Can you remember the dream anymore?

Zary: In the dream I was much younger. I was walking through the woods with one of my childhood friends back when my family lived in Hungary. Looking back on it I realize the image was from a dream but also from a memory. My friend would routinely go searching with his older siblings for mushrooms in the forest. There is an old tradition in Hungary for families to go mushroom searching together. Most towns and cities have many mushroom inspection locations where people can bring the mushrooms they find.

Rian: It’s fascinating to think of that being a tradition. It sounds almost like a folktale to someone like me, so it really does feel otherworldly and dreamlike. It’s lovely to know that it has roots in something so real for you. With your other work, do you tend to take inspiration from dreams that you have? What are some other things that spur on your writing?

Zary: I believe this is the only time I wrote something which came from a dream. Most of my pieces come about through thoughts or meditations. One of the things I love to do is take jogs and I often come up with ideas for pieces when I am jogging. I will often stop, mid-jog, and take a few notes on my phone in order to make sure I don’t forget the idea by the time I get back home. I also love to read; I am usually reading through two or three books at once. It is quite common for me to get an idea for a story from something I just read.

Rian: That sounds like a very solid way to garner your ideas, and certainly a great way not to lose them. The pure amount of writing you have out there shows how reliable your method is, and not to mention your skill. Now, you spent a lot of time in Hungary - do you feel your upbringing there shaped the style you create in now?

Zary: My Hungarian childhood has definitely had a huge impact on my life today. I am, what people commonly call, a third culture kid. I have strong cultural memories and experiences from two different dominant cultures in my life, Hungary and America. I am almost always hopping back and forth in my memory between the two places. I also can easily become restless in my spirit after I have been in one location for too long. After I have spent a few months in one country I am already longing to go back to visit the other place. I still have very strong friendships from my time in Hungary. I feel very blessed because, as an adult, I was able to spend a number of years working in Hungary which gave me the unique experience of seeing how the country has changed culturally, socially, and politically over the last thirty years.

Rian: I can only imagine how that aids in how and what you write. It’s wonderful to be able to view the world through such different lenses. Speaking of lenses, a common theme in your writing are instruction-like statements directed to a vague reader/third person perspective. What’s the intention behind framing parts of your pieces like this?

Zary: I am certainly drawn to this kind of sturdy, analytical, matter-of-fact way of expressing an idea. I think a concept comes across with a certain kind of authority when it is written like this. At times, writing of this kind can even translate into something which becomes poetic and lyrical in spite of its workmanlike phrasing. I recently read a poem by Layli Long Soldier entitled “38” in which she describes, in very stark phrases, the incident from Minnesota history in which 38 Dakota men were hung. The history episode being discussed is gruesome and tragic. The poet’s ability to stare directly at the incident is enabled, I believe, by the way she chose to write the words and sentences very analytically.

Rian: Certainly a level of analytical language can remove the emotions that might deem it too heavy to bear, and I feel you employ a similar sense in your work which aids in the dream-like vibe in Mushroom Searching. Do you have any words you would like to say about the experience of submitting to Our Dream Journal and the fact that it’s closing (for the foreseen future)?

Zary: I just found out that Our Dream Journal was closing, and I’m truly sad. I had such a delightful experience submitting to it that this makes me sad for the loss of this corner of the literary world. I definitely think there is a need for this kind of submission place, and I hope there may be hope for Our Dream Journal to come back in some form in the future.

Rian: We really appreciate hearing that from you. We’re hoping to see your work back with us soon as well. To close us out, are there any projects we can hope to see from you soon? And are there any previous pieces we can find of yours?

Zary: I am quite excited that a number of my short pieces are coming out in various places in the month of October. I am also overwhelmed with joy to share the news that my debut novella, “Words on the Page”, will be published in early 2024 by DarkWinter Lit Press. I share quite frequently on my social pages when something new of mine is coming out. That’s a good place to follow along😊

Twitter: @ZaryFekete

Instagram: @ZaryFekete

Bluesky: @zaryfekete.bsky.social