An Interview with Angel Dionne

Angel T. Dionne is a surrealist author and professor of English literature at the University of Moncton’s Edmundston campus. She holds a PhD in creative writing from the University of Pretoria and is the founding editor of Vroom Lit Magazine. Her work has been featured in several experimental publications. She is the author of Bird Ornaments (Broken Tribe Press), Sardines (ClarionLit, 2023), and two chapbooks. She also served as co-editor for Rape Culture 101: Programming Change (Demeter Press, 2020). In 2025, her surrealist poetry was shortlisted for the Perpendicular Poetry Prize. Her new book, Garden-Body., is scheduled for publication in fall 2026 with Radiant Press. Find Angel online here.

Congratulations on your forthcoming book, Garden-Body! Tell me about it.

Garden-Body. is a collection of surrealist prose poems that tell the story of Lev. In a world where most others grow something worthwhile, Lev’s body yields only tangled weeds. His mother is part flora and part feather; his father, a bowl of ash; his brother, eternally eight years old yet wise beyond his years. What happens when Lev’s wife chooses to become a lavender bush? Or when he is given a disembodied hand as a son? Garden-Body. paints a portrait of Lev’s life using fragments of dream logic as he navigates his own identity, grief, transformation, and decay.

It went through multiple iterations during the writing process. It began as a collection of surrealist poems, but I quickly noticed a connecting theme and decided to turn it into a story.

Why did you start Vroom Lit Magazine?

I wanted to achieve two goals. First, I wanted to give my student editors the chance to gain experience with editing and putting together a magazine. Second, I wanted to give all my students the opportunity to possibly see their work published.

What I love most about my job is having the chance to guide young, aspiring writers as they discover their voices. I think them seeing their names in print helps build their confidence and belief in their work. It also helps that their work appears alongside excellent writing from external contributors, many of whom are well-established in their careers as writers.

I still remember when I had my first story published in the University of Maine at Fort Kent’s Aroostook Review as an undergraduate and how it made me feel that I had something to say and share with the world. That my voice was important and necessary. This is something I want my students to experience, too.

I’m honoured to serve as the founding editor alongside my very talented student editors who help make each issue a success. Some of the student contributors in this issue are publishing their first-ever pieces written in English. Others, like our English majors, have submitted to the magazine before. Wherever my students are on their learning journeys, I couldn’t be prouder of their creativity and effort.

Where does the name Vroom come from?

It was my colleague, Janet Kennedy, who came up with the name. I asked her for her opinion, and she suggested Vroom Vroom. We settled on just Vroom. I see the magazine now as a vehicle allowing students to move forward on their paths. For external contributors, I hope our little magazine gives them a sense of movement and something to look forward to. You see, even though the name was chosen somewhat randomly, it’s very fitting.

What lessons have you learned from editing?

Gosh, it’s much harder than it looks! I’m lucky in that my student editors have taken my creative writing class and were already accustomed to editing and workshopping before we started the magazine. It requires a careful eye for detail. Sometimes, we don’t fully agree, but that’s the beauty of it: conversation. Everything is a conversation. I think these conversations and argumentation are a lost art, really.

Our internal and external contributors have been a pleasure to work with. Sometimes, further edits are needed after we send around the proofs, but everyone is always patient and willing to work with us. The biggest challenge for us all is voting “no” on something. We want to say yes, and we wish we could. Because we focus on student writing, we often have to decline beautifully written work that we either don’t have space for, or don’t connect with.

What advice would you give to writers that are just starting out?

Be honest and vulnerable in you writing. Find your voice. You’re not going to find it all at once, and that’s ok. It takes practice and grit and tears and many, many edits. But you’ll eventually find it and when you do, watch out, because that voice will sometimes scare you and always surprise you, but you need to lean into it.

You need to say the things only you can say because that’s the beauty of writing. Don’t fear setbacks, and don’t be afraid of your own mind. Nothing in life is linear.

Do you write every day? Do you have a schedule?

I wish I could say I did! I write in spurts, and if I were more disciplined, I’d likely be more prolific. Alas, it’s just not in the cards for me. I used to try to force it when I was younger, but doing so was rarely fruitful.

I’ve often been told that we should treat writing as a job, and I agree if that works for you. Like I tell my students: figure out your process and do that.

Maybe you write your best when you sit your butt down every day and write on a schedule. Maybe you write your best when you wait for the muses to descend, although they rarely do. Maybe you write best in complete silence, late at night, early in the morning, or in the hustle-and-bustle and clang and clack of a busy diner. Whatever it is, do that.

Do you primarily write using a computer?

I do. I joke that my wrists have grown frail from lack of use over the years. I sometimes jot down a few notes on lined paper or hastily scribble a poem if I’m without my laptop, but I do the actual writing and editing on a computer.

Who do you write for?

Whoever wants to read it. My work leans into the surreal, grotesque, and experimental. That’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I’m writing for whoever wants to sip it.

How do you handle literary rejection?

When I was an undergraduate, I was lucky enough to learn from a very accomplished author and visiting professor. I hadn’t yet sent anything out for consideration, and I was horribly self-conscious about my work. She told the class that, at one point, she had a suitcase full of rejection letters. She also told us that personalized rejections are a win. I took her advice to heart.

Literary rejection is just part of the game. Now I pass on this lesson to my students. Will you get rejected? Unavoidably. Does that mean your work isn’t any good? Definitely not. Should you keep writing and submitting? You have to if you’re at all serious about your work.

If you were stranded on a desert island, with no hope of rescue, would you continue writing?

Yes, if only to say, “I was here.” Even if a passing tortoise or crab is the only one who gets to read it.

What’s next for you?

Who knows? I hope to do a bit of a book tour once Garden-Body. is released, likely in various locations around Canada. I also plan to continue guiding my brilliant students. I prefer that word, guiding, rather than teaching, which gives a false air of superiority that I’ve never really connected with as an educator.

Of course, I’ll continue with Vroom Lit Magazine for as long as my students want to do it. Otherwise? I’m just waiting to accrue enough literary clout to make becoming a reclusive author socially acceptable.

Just kidding.

* This interview was conducted via email in July 2025.