Queens Gazette

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Sara Hosey

 

 

A Queens native, Sara Hosey is the author of Iphigenia Murphy (Blackstone Publishing), a young adult novel set in and around Forest Park in the early 1990s. Sara is also the author of a forthcoming novella, Great Expectations (Running Wild Press). Astoria Bookshop had a discussion with Sara on Iphigenia Murphy. It is being streamed on both YouTube and Facebook Live.

Sara Hosey holds a PhD in American literature from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and is an associate professor of English and Women and Gender Studies at Nassau Community College. Her book, Home Is Where the Hurt Is: Media Depictions of Wives and Mothers (McFarland, 2019), looks at representations of the domestic in popular culture. Sara grew up in Queens and now lives in Sea Cliff, New York, with her partner and their children. She is working on a second novel.

QG: Are young adult novels for adults too?

SH: Yes! Some of my most enthusiastic readers are adults. If you are a reader, then you are likely interested in the experiences and feelings of those who might be different from yourself. And to that extent, I believe that many adults are open to reading about teens and young adults.

 

 

QG: Why did you choose Forest Park as a setting for your novel?

SH: Forest Park is this amazing oasis—over 500 acres of woods and hiking trails and playgrounds and sports courts—in the middle of the city. You can go golfing there; you can go horseback riding. It’s astoundingly beautiful.

I was drawn to the idea of making a home for oneself in a place that brought into focus the wonderful contradictions of Queens itself: at once in the city, but also with these charming wooded enclaves; a bit dangerous, but also with a wonderful sense of promise and opportunity; gritty, but also gorgeous.

QG: As a person raised in Queens, how have you seen the borough change over the years?

SH: My novel, Iphigenia Murphy, is my love song to 90s Queens. Queens was definitely a bit grittier in those days. There was a sense of wildness in some places—including in Forest Park—that was at once kind of scary, but also kind of exciting. I was hoping to tap into that in the novel.

Queens is my heart’s home. I grew up in Flushing, went to middle school in East Elmhurst and went to high school in Jamaica Estates, and as an adult I’ve lived in Long Island City, Jackson Heights, and Richmond Hill. I think Queens, like the rest of the city, is safer than it was in the past, but that most importantly, it remains this example of the possibilities of true diversity.

QG: What are your favorite restaurants in Queens (pre-pandemic or currently)?

SH: My favorite place for soup dumplings is Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao on Prince Street in Flushing, and my favorite place for pizza is Nick’s in Forest Hills. I love the Arepa Lady in Jackson Heights— we used to get late night arepas from her back when she had a food cart on Roosevelt Avenue.

QG: What are your favorite places to write in Queens (pre-pandemic)?

SH: Espresso 77 in Jackson Heights and Sweetleaf Coffee Roasters in LIC are my favorite coffee shops to write in. I also adore Forest Park. There’s nothing better than a sunny bench in the park.

QG: What are your favorite places to read or give readings in Queens? Favorite book stores?

SH: Kew and Willow in Kew Gardens and Astoria Bookshop are absolute gems and everybody should support them. I also recommend that everyone buy Iphigenia Murphy at Kew and Willow and then walk over to Forest Park and find a comfortable spot to read in. My main character, Iffy, is always reading in the park.

QG: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received about writing?

SH: Writing is rewriting. And rewriting. And rewriting again.

QG: Who are your favorite authors with a Queens connection?

SH: In YA, I love Meg Medina and Stephanie Jimenez, and in poetry, I am a big fan of my friends Richard Newman and Jared Harél.

—Nicollette Barsamian

For the full interview, visit QGazette.com.

This column was originated in July 2013 by Nicollette Barsamian

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