Interview of Ernest Hogan
by Xánath Caraza
Ernest Hogan is the author of High
Aztech, Smoking
Mirror Blues, and Cortez
on Jupiter. Those novels, along with his short fiction
have won him the reputation of being the Father of Chicano Science Fiction. His
mother’s maiden name is Garcia, he was born in East L.A., and has been called
the n-word many, many times over the years. His work has appeared in Amazing
Stories, Analog Science Fiction and Fact, and Aztlan: A Journal
of Chicano Studies, and other magazines and anthologies.
Who is Ernest Hogan?
Damn good question! I’m actually too busy to think much about it. Too
busy being it, whatever it is. I’m not to be confused with Ernest Hogan, the
Father of Ragtime, but since he’s been dead for over a century, it shouldn’t be
hard. As for defining myself as a writer, I seem to be stuck in the science
fiction category because most of the publications willing to run my work have
that genre’s name as part of the title, and there isn’t really any viable
market for the gonzoid surrealistic stuff I do when not playing sci-fiista. The
literary and corporate worlds tend to cringe in horror at my vulgarity and
rasquache. It hasn’t been lucrative, but I can’t seem to stop, and some people
enjoy it.
As a child, who first introduced you to reading? Who guided you through your first
readings?
It’s all my parents’ fault. Dad always was
reading something. He and my mom had books and all kinds of magazines all over
the house. They encouraged our reading. I found it a great alternative to most
of dull stuff on television. They also didn’t mind when I found weird stuff and
brought it home.
How did you first become a writer? Where were your first short stories written?
Reading was actually difficult for me at first.
Dyslexia. (Did I spell it right?) Then I discovered comic books, and there was
no stopping me. Since I was lousy at math, becoming a mad scientist was out of
the question, so I decided to take advantage of my grotesquely overactive
imagination and write. Especially after a teacher showed The Story of a Writer,
a documentary about Ray Bradbury. I thought, “Yeah, I could do that.” Then my
parents got me a typewriter to do my homework on, and started writing. My first
publication was a letter in a comic book—I was hooked. From my typewriter to
comic book racks all more the country, and before the Internet! This was in
West Covina, California.
Do you have any favorite short story by other
authors? Could you share some lines
along with your reflection of what drew you toward that short story?
Lately (I keep changing my mind about these
things) I’ve been telling people “I See a Man Sitting on a Chair, and the Chair
is Biting His Leg” by Robert Sheckley and Harlan Ellison. It was way ahead of
its time—postcyberpunk back in the Sixties—and one of the first time I
encountered what I like to do in my writing, which is throw around ideas, and
create a volatile mix that seems to take on a life of its own before the
reader’s eyes. It’s wild, crazy, fun, and gets you thinking about hey, what the
hell’s the world coming to? It’s also a great example of a story that came from
writers interacting with the world, and each other, which I believe is the way
the imagination works best, rather than contemplating your navel in a dark,
quiet room.
What is a day of creative writing like for you?
I’d love to just get up, and start plugging away
on the latest project after breakfast/checking email/Facebook/Twitter, but my
life is just too complicated. I’ve learned get used to being interrupted—the
phone rings, the dog barks, email demands immediate attention, were those
gunshots or firecrackers? Long hours at the computer don’t seem to happen,
especially when you have a day job. I’ve also learned to write on the run. I
used to use little notebooks, but in the last few years have been using an
iTouch and Google Drive so I can work just about anywhere. Most of I’ve written
recently was typed with one finger in the breakroom of the Cholla branch of the
Phoenix Public Library. A real writer finds a way, no matter what the
situation.
When do you know when a text is ready to be read?
About the time I get tired of working on it. I
also don’t consider a piece of writing to be finished until it’s been published
and read, which of course can be a long, twisted road. Then after it’s
published, you can see things that need changing, or you just plain changed
your mind.
Could you describe your activities as writer?
Mostly, it the usual, writing, finding markets.
I’m lucky in that since I have a reputation, they often come looking for me.
Most of my short story sales from the last decade have come from answering
email. I really should send things to more markets more often, but my career
seems to do things on its own.
Could you comment on your life as a cultural activist?
Sometimes life forces you into the role of a
cultural activist. What I started writing, I didn’t think my ethnicity would be
an issue, but it turns out that the publishing industry, even though they won’t
come out and admit it, believes that books, and culture in general, are a white
people thing, and get nervous when people like me write about people that they
don’t fit into their stereotypical visions of their audience. Yeah, times are
changing, but it’s a slow and painful process. New York still won’t touch me
with a ten-foot pole, but then that’s probably a good thing, because I’m
writing what I want instead of beating myself bloody trying to create a
“bestseller.” My showing up—or just existing—causes controversy. Since I’m not
giving up, the world has no choice but to change.
What project/s are you working on at the moment?
I’m working on one of the novels I’d like to
finish before I die (I’m getting old), Zyx, Or; Bring Me The Brain of Victor
Theremin, a slapstick comedy about the Singularity starring my literary
alter ego. And thinking about my first story collection. I’m also planning an
art project, a temporary mural, for the library where I work (Did I mention
that I’m also an artist?)
What advice do you have for other writers?
Way back in the Seventies, in a Creative Writing
class, the teacher said, “If we’re lucky, one person in this room will get
published.” Guess it was me. I didn’t give up. And I also probably wanted to be
a writer more than the others. I have made sacrifices, as my Aztec ancestors
have taught me. And don’t give up. Also, don’t be a snob. Don’t be afraid to
try new things. Be prepared to change your definition of success.
What else would you like to share?
Buy
Medusa Uploaded by Emily Devenport, because a rich wife can come in
handy. I will be judging the First Annual Somos en escrito Extra-Fiction
Writing Contest 2018 for Somos en escrito: The Latino Literary Online
Magazine (deadline for entries is September 30). And an anthology I
contributed to, Altermundos: Latin@ Speculative Literature, Film, and Pop
Culture has just won the American Book Award.
