Interview with Celia Lisset Alvarez, Author of "Mesh and Lace"
by Fringe Magazine • 04.07.2010Celia Lisset Alvarez, poet, fiction writer, and author of the short story Mesh and Lace in our Working Issue, was kind enough to answer a few of our questions over email. We talked diners, family, and the 80s.
Fringe: The setting, while vivid and well described, doesn’t seem to be particular to any city, state, or region. Is there a particular place you had in mind when writing this story?
Alvarez: I did go to a Catholic school here in Miami, but there’s no diner nearby. I think I wanted the story to feel claustrophobic, as if the only places that existed were the diner and—briefly—Isabel and Tony’s home. I haven’t traveled much outside of Florida, but, no matter where I’ve been, stepping into certain places—like Denny’s or Waffle House—is the same anywhere, whether you’re in trendy South Beach, sleepy Sarasota, or historic St. Augustine. Some people find this comforting, but it seems to me very strange, like bubbles in the environment where no particularities can penetrate. At the same time, I didn’t want the diner to be a recognizable one. Despite Isabel’s chafing against the “waitress of Oz” theme, she is part of a supportive group at work, something that I felt might be different in a national chain, where there’s more of a corporate feel. Sarah, Cary, and Isabel care for and help each other. This is something I’ve also observed everywhere, but especially in poorer sections of the city—Miami, specifically: the huge role your “work family” plays in your life. In this I might have been thinking of a local salon. The stylists are all women. They pick each other’s kids up from school, do each other’s groceries, all sorts of things. They just happen to work together, but they function as a family—better, even.
I also purposely refrained from explicitly setting the story in Miami because I didn’t want Isabel’s problems to seem specific to immigrants. There is such an enormous population of immigrants in Miami, and so many of them doing blue-collar work, that it would have only seemed natural, especially given my own background as a Cuban immigrant, to make Isabel explicitly Cuban or Hispanic. But that is a different story, and one I’ve told elsewhere. I have a very similar story, in fact, called “How to Survive Your First Year in Miami.” The protagonist is a recent Cuban arrival who works at a supermarket. In that story, however, the city is almost a character; her disorientation at the new culture overwhelms even the stress at work. In “Mesh and Lace” I wanted to concentrate on a smaller, more personal theme, even if one’s home always seeps into one’s stories somehow.
Fringe: Despite the obvious strain on Tony and Isabel’s relationship, it’s clear that they still very much care for each other, beautifully shown through these simple, yet very intimate moments. Yet, the reader never gets to see them together very much. What role does their relationship play in this story?
Alvarez: I really wanted to show a relationship that worked. Given the prom-pregnancy plot, there is a tendency to think that such relationships are doomed. I have met many people, however, who married young and made it, and I wanted Isabel and Tony’s relationship to be at the center of this otherwise bleak existence. Despite their youth, they have managed to do what needed doing. However, to portray them as madly in love would be foolish. On a practical level, they don’t really have much time to be together because of work. But also Isabel has not really come to terms with her life in the beginning of the story, so although she feels secure at home and in her relationship, it’s not the complete ease of someone who is not wondering what might have been. And although Tony was less my focus than Isabel, I felt he needed to go out a little while after work instead of spending time with his wife, not because he resents her or their family, but just to get away from his duties for a moment. I didn’t want their relationship, in other words, to seem like a mistake, or the result of a mistake. They might not have been very smart on that prom night, but that makes them neither stupid nor bad people—just human. I like the idea that they stood by one another even long after the initial crisis, and also that they were taken in by Tony’s parents at first. It’s a small detail, but one I feel encapsulates something I really believe, the primacy of family and how that loving support has the ability to transcend all difficulties when it is strong. In many ways, that is the message of the story.
The idea of surrender is such a refreshing change from the more obvious depression or rage that literary characters deal with when their circumstances seems to crush them. I’m the mother of two kids and I know that feeling of just reacting to situations all day. Bedtime comes, I’m exhausted, but I can’t conjure up a clear description of what I’ve done today. I’d say detached wonder is a perfect description of the feeling. I’d love to read your story. Where can I?
Hi, Ana! Thanks for your comments. You can click on the “Mesh and Lace” link above to go directly to the story. I was thinking of Isabel’s work–her job, that is–when I made that comment, but of course you bring up a very good point: the famous “second shift.” With three small children, Isabel has to put in another full day’s work when she comes home. Part of the sense of “wonder” I’m sure comes from not quite believing you are capable of doing so much, and yet somehow you are. My hats-off to all you “wonder” women.
This is a very good story. You’re a great writer, Celia.
Thank you, Ellie, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Hello Celia,
Thank you for your stoty which i’ve just read and enjoyed.
Isobel’s life is a hard life but she’s happy. She appears to have less than the others, especially Miriam, but in many ways she has much more. Tony sounds like a good man. I’m very interested in the way both Miriam & Isobel appear like social outsiders at the ball. Both unable to enter ‘the norm’ for different reasons. It’s a fasinating contrast you’ve shown. It’s a very good story.
Thank you, Enda.
Thank you, Enda. The story was originally titled “Reunion,” and I conceived of it as a coming-out-after-high-school story. I quickly realized, however, that what was infinitely more interesting than that was the way people react to the news. Someone like Isabel, for example, whose life also became so circumscribed by her sexuality, except in the opposite way. Once I had that idea, I kept adding to the contrast: Miriam would be rich, Isabel poor; Miriam glamorous, Isabel plain. What I like most about the way the two characters turned out is that neither judges the other too much. They wind up having their own mini-reunion, and reconnecting on a much more intimate level than they might have had both of them made it to the real party. I’m glad you liked this aspect of the story.
Celia – this is a vivid, close-to-the-heart story. I was thinking that after I finished reading, I would ask you where to find Isabel so I could order a grilled cheese and slip her a note with the bill to tell her how beautiful she was.
Coffee with you would be lovely, too.
Maggie
Celia, Maggie said I must read your story and for good reason. You have a wondrous ability to capture the nuances of your characters so we can fully see them and be there. You made me think of my favorite short story writer, Alice Munro and her sensitivities. Thank you for sharing.
Maggie, Bernie, you are too kind! Bernie, you could not have known, but Munro is one of my all-time favorites. In fact, I’m currently reading Too Much Happiness. She is a master of the short story, and I could only hope to have learned from having read her. One of the things I love about her is her commitment to the form—she continues to write short stories when so many authors seem to prefer the novel almost exclusively. I love reading and writing (and teaching!) short stories. It’s one of the pleasures of reading journals and magazines—the ability to find fantastic new stories that otherwise might not be collected.
I’m so happy my good friend Maggie told me about your short story. I planned to just look at the beginning and read it later at a quiet moment, but I was immediately drawn in and couldn’t stop reading. Though I’ve never been in Isabel’s situation, I easily felt what she was feeling. I love the dignity that defined her and her life. Wonderful story.
Thank you, Carol. That’s the nicest compliment, that you couldn’t stop reading. Not to mention Maggie’s enthusiasm–I’m going to have to make her my agent!
It was very well written.I could picture it all and the characters and feelings! It is really made me more confident of my abilities thants to your Mesh and lace.it was just really something to touch many , however i am only a learner no degree but I am a great lover or reading , words and writing free verse! You have given me food tor thought on my writing too Tnank you!
“No One,” I don’t think you need a degree to write well. Reading and writing have always been and always will be the cornerstones of good writing. Take pride and have confidence in your work and you will grow as a writer. There are teachers all around you, not just in classrooms.