Susan Godwin

Susan Godwin is a fervent educator, writer, and freelance artist whose world has always been steeped in books, from Harold and the Purple Crayon; she couldn’t resist drawing on her bedroom wall, no matter how many reprimands; to her first job as a library book mender in her Shaker Heights High School basement to teaching English at the prestigious University School of Nashville. A former Oxford scholar, Godwin has received writing awards from the University of Michigan, Middle Tennessee State University, and Bread Loaf School of English. Though writing is her true passion, she is also a visual artist working primarily in oils and pastels. Her home is outside of Nashville, in Dickson, TN, on the banks of a winding Tennessee river, in a hayloft renovated by her sweet, sexy husband, Tony; with help from their rotty, Roady!

Facebook: @susan.godwin.54

Instagram: @susanjgodwin_author/

Not all books are for all readers… when you start a book and you just don’t like it, how long do you read until you bail?

I rarely bail. If I like the character(s) I will plug along, unless there is gratuitous violence. Enough of that in the real world.

Is there a work of art that you love. Why? Have you ever visited it in person?

Growing up in Cleveland Ohio, some of my earliest memories are taking classes at the Cleveland Museum of Art. I would say my favorite work of art there is Van Gogh’s Two Poplars in the Alpilles near Saint-Rémy. When I was (briefly) in art school, we had to copy a master painting and this is the one I chose: (It’s not this yellow; I took the photo at night.)

Vacation druthers… City or Rural destination? Why?

The beach! No question. It gives me a feeling of freedom that no other place can.

What piece of clothing tells the most interesting story about your life?

I have a coat that my ex, a well-known designer, made for me. When I helped him run his boutique in L.A. I never knew who might walk through the door, be it Neil Young, Johnny Cash, or Keith Urban. I gave most of the items he made for me to my daughter but I kept a ‘gambler coat.’ My best friend borrowed it once, for a costume party. She went as Rhett Butler, and stuck a banana in her pants.

Do you have another artistic outlet in addition to your writing? Do you sew?

I oil paint, and I use pastels. This is one of my pieces.