INTERVIEW
with Joyce McGreevy
It is not easy making a living as a
writer, or indeed in any of the arts,
so I am always thrilled in meeting
those that do. I first met Joyce
when we were working at National
Geographic Learning. She was an
editor; I was in media research.
After one conversation, I knew I
had found someone I wanted to
know better. Joyce has an insatiable
curiosity about the world, and that
has found an outlet in the wide
breadth of writing she does: essays, memoir, educational, marketing, nature, political humor, and more. Like many people grounded in their craft, Joyce also has a generous nature. She is constantly sharing with me the writing treasures she finds in her journey through this rich world and I count myself blessed to know her.
Joyce McGreevy is the author of Gardening by Heart: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Garden (Sierra Club Books). An independent writer, editor, and publicist, she lives in Evanston. Her favorite aspect of freelancing is having the freedom to travel while working full time. [email protected]
Q. How did you get started on your writing career? Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?
A. I wanted to write as soon as I found out what letters were and what you could make with them.
I have a vivid memory of
morning sun glazing the dining
room table where my mother,
who was an artist, taught me
about the alphabet. I was three-
and-half years old, wildly
curious and full of energy, and
in teaching me to read so
young, Mom gave me
something that both centered
me and set my mind free.
By the time I could sound out words, I recall eyeing the spines of books, some a century old, on shelves that my father had built. They stretched from floor to ceiling and from one end of a vast, cobalt blue living room to the other. Everything that explained life was within those covers and that realization filled me with awe. When I started kindergarten I just knew, the way you know what color your own eyes are, that I was going to be a writer someday. It was settled.
Q. From some of our conversations, you spoke about how wonderful it was to write in Ireland. How was it different to write there than in the US?
A. I would not be a writer if it were not for two things—the Irish culture and the fact that my parents supported my wish to go to school there. I came from a large, happy family in California that loved to travel. And just as I instinctively knew I loved writing, I felt drawn to Ireland. I just
knew without really understanding it that I needed to be there and that I would have been out of my element in a Southern California high school. So at age ten I began lobbying my parents to let me go to school overseas. Two years later, they finally agreed. Best move I ever made, because the Irish culture is one that values writing as a craft and I was mentored by wise teachers. I ultimately graduated from the National University of Ireland in Galway and embarked on a journalism career.
The Art of Making a Living