Meet Alexander Manzoni

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alexander Manzoni. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alexander, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

It all started in my youth. My mother, a painter, raised me with the idea that the arts as one of the most important things in life. Being that she was such a great artist, I knew that I wanted to do something creative but didn’t want to try to compete with her (as it would be no use).

She was a prolific reader. I cut my teeth on Goosebumps before moving on to the classics, starting with Poe and moving on to Homer and epic poems from other authors before settling on Stephen King by grade 3. By grade 5 I was writing video game fan fiction. In grade 7, in class, we had a contest to see whose poem would end up in a children’s anthology. Mine and one other student’s were chosen. This gave me the creative push that I needed.

Unfortunately, that was when my bipolar kicked in, and beginning with grade 8, I was in and out of hospitals for suicide attempts/ideation. The one thing they didn’t take from me was a paper and pencil. This thought lingered with me through the years. As my illness grew, so did my drive to control it via self-medication, as I had long grown distrustful of doctors. This eventually led to my first arrest and rehab on 2007.

When I was locked up, I began writing more. My therapists urged me to continue. In 2014, when my Mom sold the house, I was left behind for several months due to probation. That August, I checked into a hospital for suicidal ideation and alcohol withdrawal. It was during this time that my drive to develop my writing truly began. A couple poetry submissions finally landed and that had me energized. Then, when I finally did make it to Spokane where my family went— my brother wouldn’t let me stay over at his house; he made me go to a homeless shelter. It was there that I found inspiration for what became my first novel: The Spokane Story. But I couldn’t even start writing it until I found a place to live (day rooms are too chaotic). And that took three months.

But once I was situated, I began going to local open mics. Which led to my first radio appearances. I made contacts all over the city.— contacts that ended up serving me well once the rough draft of the novel was complete. I found an editor that gave my book the once over for free. And I discovered a girlfriend who happened to be an amazing graphic designer. She ended up doing the cover and formatting. Finally, I used a local publisher recommended by many. And it was because of that— that the local popular indie bookstore was so willing to take my book. It has been on the shelves since April.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

At the moment, I am taking a bit of a break from the grind because my first child arrived in May. And I opted to spend those beginning critical months to take care of Baby Xander.

Normally, I would be doing literary events and open mics around the city. I was on KYRS radio 88.1 back in July, doing an interview about my novel and performing poetry.

My socials: @WritingManzoni (Tiktok, Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, X) are usually quite active. I post videos from my events, vlogs and other snippets from my life and career. I try to keep things as real as possible.

My novel, The Spokane Story is available at Auntie’s Bookstore in Downtown Spokane. And is also available through their website:

https://www.auntiesbooks.com/book/9798218211622

A few words about my work. I write about all sorts of things: from crushing realism, to sci-fi, horror and mixtures thereof. It all possesses a distinct dark and sardonic sense of humor: often realized in various incarnations of social and cultural satire. They can be novels (I have five in-progress), novellas, short stories and poems.

I have not missed a day of writing since November 2016. It started as a writing challenge. Then turned into a lifestyle.

My message is one of empathy, understanding and personal redemption. I like to write about broken individuals that need to turn their lives around by any means necessary. In The Spokane Story, I wrote about a family of meth cooks living out of an RV. Each character represented a different facet of the drug/homeless lifestyle that I wanted to portray. It was something that, at the time of writing, I was desperately trying to get away from. The novel is a “good bye” to my six years of addiction. And I hope that it reaches someone that really needs it— someone who couldn’t do it the way everyone else told them.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Computer skills, creative writing, social media management.

I started out writing everything on paper and then copying to Microsoft Word or an equivalent. Then, as my life changed (and I acquired a cat that loves sitting on my keyboard), I started writing on my phone in the Notes app then copying it to Pages for fine tuning. For those who wish to learn more about computer basics, there are often free courses available at your local library and/or learning center.

Getting used to putting yourself out there on social media is essential in today’s world. One of the first things I did when I started doing the open mic rounds is meeting people, getting their contact information, buying their books, lit mags, chapbooks when available, etc.

I had started a Youtube channel so that I could put my work up there for people to see. My girlfriend, Sophia, would often record my performances and then I’d share them on multiple platforms. This is tough work— keeping up with the right hashtags. And there always seems to be a new platform around the corner.

Despite my reservations, I kept going.

When COVID hit, I started using Tiktok more, eventually growing to six thousand followers. But then I got too political. And often found my videos taken down or my accounts suspended. Youtube has been retroactively flagging my poems for content violations, such as a poem I did about the 9/11 Anniversary and the opioid epidemic. It goes to show that sometimes you need to play with your cards close to your chest. And with the advent of AI stealing author’s works off of sites like Facebook, it makes the question of what to post on a daily basis all the more difficult.

As for creative writing, along with talent, a proper basis of the basics is necessary. Attention should be paid to grammar courses. Although my bipolar disorder caused me to miss much of my schooling in later years, beginning with grade 8, my Mother always bought me whatever books I wanted. So we amassed quite the library of classical and modern literature. After I dropped out of high school, I made a brief attempt to go to county college. This disintegrated before I had a chance to take any English courses. Not to be dissuaded, I kept on reading, unconsciously studying for many years, until I had read pretty much everything that I wanted to. And at that point, I began reading articles on writing and the craft thereof— and the habits and lives of famous writers. When I discovered Hunter S. Thompson, I began drug-fueled writing trek that eventually got me arrested on a felony heroin possession charge. The rehab and recovery that followed lasted many years. But that gave me time to write (and plenty of it).

Once I made it to Spokane and wasn’t homeless anymore, I began going to writing events and presentations. Which helped immensely. What I’ve realized is that learning is a lifelong process. And it doesn’t have to stop because you’re too broke to pay for tuition and books. My advice to newcomers: write every day. Make it a full on habit until you can’t imagine a world without it. If the passion isn’t there— along with the talent, little shall ever come of it unless some sort of miracle happens.

Be flexible. Adapt to new environments and surroundings. I knew that my novel’s content was too controversial to get picked up so the decision was made to self-publish it through a local printer. When the book was ready, I emailed local indie bookstores letting them know. In less than a week, one of them got back to me. A short filling out of forms later— I was bringing them over for them to put on the shelves.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

Yes. It has been a long time since I collaborated with anyone— at least a few years. I recorded an art house short film with a war veteran based on one of my poems (“Mr. West’s Nightmare,” which was included in the Evermore 2 poetry anthology available on Amazon).

Here’s a link to that short film: https://youtu.be/4OnWnWii7xY?si=frVQgq-sNhx_eZ2o

Another time, my brother was trying to make a podcast. And I played one of the characters. I do a lot of interesting voices. It was going to be really cool: a fictional podcast about the weird and spooky goings on in a town based on the toxic waste dump where we grew up. But, by the time we got to recording episode 2, my brother decided to abandon the project for unknown reasons.

Link to Episode 1 of the Podcast: https://youtu.be/IayP5H2qGYw?si=zciLHYdnf8WVdAKW

So if someone needs a voice over or something similar. I can get it done and back out to you very quickly since I have a decent pro audio setup in my studio and the training to match. In 2007, I took an extensive sound engineering course with the famous Michael Tarsia (R.I.P.) out of Philadelphia.

If you’re producing a poetry anthology, I have over a thousand and fifty pages of work available.

I also can give work to an editor— for my five novels-in-progress, numerous novellas and short stories, and a complete rough draft of the sequel to The Spokane Story.

It also would be great to work with a filmmaker. And I always have an eye out for an outstanding video editor to help produce content.

IG: @WritingManzoni @TheSpokaneStory

YT: @WritingManzoni

Tiktok: @WritingManzoni @Manzonifamily

X: @WritingManzoni @TheSpokaneStory

Spokane Arts Creator Profile: https://www.spokanecreators.com/literary-art/alexander-antonio-manzoni

Contact Info:

• Website: Yes. It has been a long time since I collaborated with anyone— at least a few years. I recorded an art house short film with a war veteran based on one of my poems (“Mr. West’s Nightmare,” which was included in the Evermore 2 poetry anthology available on Amazon). Here’s a link to that short film: https://youtu.be/4OnWnWii7xY?si=frVQgq-sNhx_eZ2o Another time, my brother was trying to make a podcast. And I played one of the characters. I do a lot of interesting voices. It was going to be really cool: a fictional podcast about the weird and spooky goings on in a town based on the toxic waste dump where we grew up. But, by the time we got to recording episode 2, my brother decided to abandon the project for unknown reasons. Link to Episode 1 of the Podcast: https://youtu.be/IayP5H2qGYw?si=zciLHYdnf8WVdAKW So if someone needs a voice over or something similar. I can get it done and back out to you very quickly since I have a decent pro audio setup in my studio and the training to match. In 2007, I took an extensive sound engineering course with the famous Michael Tarsia (R.I.P.) out of Philadelphia. If you’re producing a poetry anthology, I have over a thousand and fifty pages of work available. I also can give work to an editor— for my five novels-in-progress, numerous novellas and short stories, and a complete rough draft of the sequel to The Spokane Story. It also would be great to work with a filmmaker. And I always have an eye out for an outstanding video editor to help produce content. IG: @WritingManzoni @TheSpokaneStory YT: @WritingManzoni Tiktok: @WritingManzoni @Manzonifamily X: @WritingManzoni @TheSpokaneStory Spokane Arts Creator Profile: https://www.spokanecreators.com/literary-art/alexander-antonio-manzoni
• Instagram: writingmanzoni
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/WritingManzoni/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/writingmanzoni
• Twitter: writingmanzoni
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@writingmanzoni?si=sWeRPJQignBb_Ve1
• Soundcloud: https://m.soundcloud.com/writingmanzoni

Image Credits

Painting by: Virginia Lee Cervino