WRITE A CURIOUS LIFE

To wrap up the last Mouths Of Others guest speaker presentation of the year, Diana Kirk spoke to MHCC staff, students and community members on May 29. She’s an Astoria-based writer with strong opinions, sass and drive, known for her autobiography “Licking Flames: Tales of a Half-Assed Hussy,” from which she read passages to the audience in the Visual Arts Theatre.

Kirk doesn’t believe herself to be a great writer, she said, but noted the key to her success.

“The core is curiosity – a writer needs to be curious,” she said. She describes storytelling as more important than writing, and loves to tell a good story. Writing is only one of her pastimes; she owns a bar in Astoria, and is a real estate investor.

Kirk explained that oftentimes when writing fiction, she characterizes individuals she has met, taking a closer look at the people in her life and how fascinating they can be if enough attention is paid to them.

 “I’m curious about everyone” she states. Her advice to would-be writers: “Live a really big life, meet people from all different walks of life and learn how they live, talk, and move – study them.”

Kirk said that publishing is a game, and a business. And as the businesswoman that she is, this process was challenging but fun to figure out. She produced her first publication once she returned to the U.S. after spending two months in Thailand. She wrote a 55,000-word book in 11 days. 

Her autobiography isn’t too long. It keeps a reader engaged, and those with a short attention span can finish it in a timely manner. Her work is full of provocative language that keeps readers on their toes. Her sons do not read her work, due to its profanity-filled chapters, she added. 

If you’d like to find out more, her website is dianakirk.wordpress.com and her autobiography can be found online on Amazon and at the following bookstores: Beach Books in Seaside; Lucy’s Books in Astoria; Powell’s Books in Portland.

Copies are now available in the MHCC Library, as well.