 |
| Francis H. Powell, Musician, Artist, Author, FLIGHT OF DESTINY |
Francis
H. Powell offers us 22 short stories in FLIGHT OF DESTINY about “misfortune”
with “unexpected final twists.” He does not supply heroes –rather “particularly
odious characters or the downtrodden, the freaks, outsiders of this world” –but
with a sense of humor. He likes to “poke fun at the establishment.”
Originally
from the U.K., Powell attended Art Schools and received a degree in painting
and MA in printmaking. A published author, he currently lives in Paris – having
spent time also working and living in Austria. He teaches a variety of topics,
and is also a composer of music. He is looking forward to publishing a second
book of short stories.
Q: FLIGHT OF DESTINY includes 22 short stories that you describe as stories about misfortune
with “unexpected final twists.” What drove you to write what appears to be dark
fiction? And what genre would you place them in?
Francis H.
Powell: I
became a dedicated “short story writer”, after I saw an advertisement in a
magazine, which was looking for short stories. It took a while but I finally connected with the originator
of this magazine, Alan Clark, who like me is from the UK. The name of the magazine was “Rat Mort”
(dead rat). I was encouraged to
write more stories similar to the one I submitted and over the passing of time
I began to develop a style. The
fact that I aimed to produce “stories with an unexpected twist” is a result of
reading a book of short stories by Roald Dahl” called “Kiss Kiss” which I read
as a child, but obviously a book that resonated long after in my mind.
Q: Is it
difficult when writing short stories to develop characters? How do you entice
readers to engage with your characters?
Francis H.
Powell: I
write about particularly odious characters or the downtrodden, the freaks,
outsiders of this world. I
establish what a character is about very early in the story. Sometimes the names of the characters
say a lot about them, for example “Bugeyes” is a character cruelly mocked, rejected
at birth, denied his inheritance, due to large eyes, a genetic disorder passed
on by his inbred aristocratic family.
Q: What roles,
if any, do villains and heroes play in your stories?
Francis H.
Powell: I
am not sure that I could say there is a hero in any of my stories…most of my
characters are flawed in some way or other. There are certainly a number of villainous characters, for
example a character called “Maggot” who tries to sell his daughter, because he
needs money for his ailing circus.
I like to turn things on their head, so characters normally deemed
virtuous, such as preachers and religious types, come across in a bad light, inhumane, and a
Gangster, (who features in my story “Opium”) comes across as being wise and
more humane.
Q: How helpful
is humor to telling your stories in FLIGHT OF DESTINY?
Francis H.
Powell: It
is vital. Hopefully this comes across. I am mocking the establishment. Humor
adds another tone to my work. I like my characters to say witty and wise
remarks. There is quite a lot of
verbal jousting. My favorite line
comes from the gangster called “Gecko” who says to his adversary Preacher Moon,
“ belief in a cruel God makes a cruel man”.
Q: Do you
intend to deliver any messages in your stories? Or are you writing to entertain
your readers?
Francis H.
Powell: I
suppose a bit of both. I guess one
of my messages is, we live in such a cruel and unjust world.
Q: You also
write poetry. Do you choose the same topics for poetry as for short stories?
When do you prefer poetry over prose?
Francis H.
Powell: I
have written poems that perhaps are in the same vain as my short stories. Some of these poems would work
alongside some of my short stories. I am not sure I have preference.
Q: You are also
a musician who composes music. Do you connect with the same kind of emotional
or creative characteristics to write as you do to compose? Does your music have
“unexpected final twists?” (unlike Beethoven whose endings tend to go on a
bit.)
Francis H.
Powell: I
am not sure I could say my music has unexpected twists…it is not part of my
thought process when I write music. However I am sure there are lots of links
with the creative things I do. I went to art school, and this has influenced me
in a big way.
Q: You were born in England, lived in
Austria, and now in France. Do you believe that your living in several
countries influenced your writing? For example, I associate dark stories and
movies and Debussy with the French; Shakespearean drama/comedy, Monty Python,
and Elgar with the British; and, great sachertorte and the waltz with the
Austrians.
Francis H.
Powell: There
is definitely a big chunk of “Britishness” in my stories. I am poking fun at
the establishment. Living abroad makes you an “outsider”. Maybe also you think
back to your home country and think of it in a different light. I think I am still very much
traumatized by my British upbringing and time spent in an austere boarding
school, which happened to be located in a rather picturesque part of the
English countryside.
My
time in Austria was a real eye opener to me. I was living in a remote village, but worked and often
travelled to Vienna. It wasn’t the
most friendly of environments and I was involved in a very complicated and
traumatic relationship at the time, with a beautiful but also emotionally
unbalanced Austrian woman.
We moved to the UK, and I found it very hard to reintegrate. Our relationship got more and more
strained. She then fell in love
with a student at the school she was working in. “Betrayal” is a theme that runs through some of my
stories. I have included a
reference to Paris in one of my stories. There is a womanizing French waiter
and a character gets pushed onto the metro line, in the same story. I have
accumulated a lot of unusual experiences while living abroad.
Q: What’s next?
Francis H.
Powell: I
would love to have a second book of short stories published.
Q: Tell us
about Francis H. Powell. What do you like to do when you’re not writing or
composing music?
Francis H.
Powell: I
am a teacher, I teach in a number of places. My most pleasant teaching jobs,
involve teaching young architects. I am far from being an expert on
architecture, however thankfully Fine Art is also a big part of their course so
I can talk about art and artists.
I
also teach in some public universities and teach both British and American
culture. I am as I mentioned an “artist” so when I have the time I paint and
make sculptures from “objet trouvé” …you would be surprised what people throw
out…
About
Francis H. Powell
Born
in 1961, in Reading, England Francis H. Powell attended Art Schools, receiving
a degree in painting and an MA in printmaking. In 1995, Powell moved to
Austria, teaching English as a foreign language while pursuing his varied
artistic interests adding music and writing. He currently lives in Paris,
songwriting, doing concerts, writing both prose and poetry. Powell has
published short stories in the magazine, “Rat Mort” and other works on the
internet site "Multi-dimensions.”
About FLIGHT OF DESTINY
FLIGHT OF DESTINY is a collection of short stories about misfortune. They are
characterized by unexpected final twists that come at the end of each tale.
They are dark and surreal tales, set around the world, at different time
periods. They show a world in which anything can happen. It is hard to
determine reality and what is going on in a disturbed mind. People’s
conceptions about morality are turned upside down. A good person can be
transformed by an unexpected event into a bad person and then back again to
their former state The high and mighty often deliver flawed arguments, those
considred wicked make good representations of themselves. Revenge is often a
subject explored.
Excerpt
ARRIVAL
The
task of placing a name, can be niggling, but what if this task becomes an
obsession and the person behind the name a dark specter?
“Mr.
Weisler is coming! Mr. Weisler is coming! Mr. Weisler is coming!” The words
swirled around in his head like a rampant tornado, scooping up all his
thoughts, amplifying them until the mixture seemed ready to devour him. Yet,
what was vexing him was that he could neither connect to nor put a fact to the
name.
Links
No comments:
Post a Comment