The Globe is full of writers, photographers and illustrators who do their best to deliver relevant news to Salt Lake Community College students.
This spring, staffers were asked who, of everyone who’s ever lived, they would interview for their one “grail” interview.
Ash Orduna
Editor in Chief Ash Orduna expressed that she would like to interview Iain S. Thomas. Some of his poetry books — including “I Wrote This For You,” “Every Word You Cannot Say” and “The Truth of You” — hit close to home for Orduna.
“His poetry is vibrant yet melancholy. It really does feel so personal despite it being offered to a whole population of people; when you read his poetry, it feels as though it is for you and only you,” said Orduna. “For the longest time, Iain S. Thomas felt like such a stranger, [and] yet, my closest friend, and it still does feel that way; they’re good comfort books.”
Orduna wants to meet the man behind the words, if she ever gets the chance.
“I’d love to sit all day and talk poetry with him,” said Orduna.
Pearl Ashton
If Pearl Ashton, an assistant editor, could interview one person dead or alive, it would be the ancient Greek poet, Sappho.
“I’d love her opinion on her legacy. It would be so cool to know more about her life as well,” said Ashton.
According to the Brooklyn Museum, Sappho innovated the form of poetry through her first-person narration, instead of writing from the vantage point of the Gods. Sappho lived on the island of Lesbos, and her name is where the term “Sapphic” came from.
Catherine Rubsam
Catherine Rubsam, a copy editor, would appreciate the opportunity to interview one of her ancestors.
“My great-grandma Ella, who was a musician during the Great Depression. I would just ask about what life was like,” said Rubsam.
Savannah Stacey
Savannah Stacey, an assistant editor, said her dream interview would be Aretha Franklin, the “Queen of Soul.”
“I’ve loved her music for as long as I can remember and would love to learn more about how she used her music as a civil rights activism tool,” said Stacey.
Bonnie Fox
When asked who her “grail” interview would be, staff writer Bonnie Fox responded enthusiastically: “Isabelle Bird! She is the author of ’A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains.’”
According to Goodreads, “A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains” details Bird’s 1873 trip to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, on the frontier of the United States.
“I love the western United States so much, and I wish I could have seen it through her eyes, seen the Rocky Mountains before they became so developed, so populated,” said Fox.
Bird, a British explorer, did much of her journey on horseback. “She was sensitive to nature — and her horse, Birdy. I would love to hear more about her adventures, especially in Estes Park,” said Fox.
Dayanna Alejandra Perez
Dayanna Alejandra Perez, a staff writer, expressed her desire to interview Gabriel García Márquez, a Colombian writer and journalist.
“He is one of the inspirations in my life; he expressed so much of my Colombian culture. I’d ask him about specific things [from] the book ’One Hundred Years of Solitude,’” said Perez. “How was he inspired and what are the things that, as Colombian[s], we should be proud of?”
Delaney Barnard
Staff writer Delaney Barnard would use her dream interview to connect with a departed family member.
“I would interview my grandma on my mother’s side, who passed just six months before I was born. Almost 20 years ago, isn’t that insane? Unfortunately, we didn’t get to meet but I would have loved the option to interview her,” said Barnard.
Barnard wants to learn more about her grandmother’s story.
“I have no idea what her story is and what made her, HER. I would have loved to get some more information on how she lived her life,” said Barnard. “Who were her friends? What was her outlook on life and how did it impact others? How did she decide on certain things? What made her the happiest?”
Dallin Stuart
“If I could interview anyone, alive or dead, I would love to interview Tiger Woods,” said Dallin Stuart, a staff writer. “I grew up watching him golf all the time, and he was an inspiration for me to get better at golf.”
Kat Aspel
Digital engagement editor Kat Aspel said music icon Adele would be her subject of choice.
“Not so much to interview her, just to meet her,” said Aspel. “She’s my favorite music artist and she’s a great person.”
Joseph Holder
“I would like, try to interview a random nobody from like 200 BC. I think it’d be fun to traumatize and amaze them with humanity’s inventions from 2,000 years down the line,” said photographer Joseph Holder.
Johnny Hartley
Johnny Hartley, another photographer, would interview his biggest inspiration, Garry Winogrand.
“Kind of a silly story, but I was scrolling Tumblr back in the glory days and I stumbled upon a photograph that absolutely floored me. I never had an interest in photography up to that point, but something about this photograph made my jaw drop and I had to learn everything I could about it. I learned it was a photograph by Winogrand and I started to look at more of his pictures and decided that I was going to do the same thing,” said Hartley.
Winogrand is one of the reasons Hartley got into photography.
“I learned that he was an absolute icon in the genre, and [I] found a skill share class by a photographer who works in the same style and was heavily influenced by Winogrand as well,” said Hartley. “I watched the skill share and was hooked; I even bought the same camera that they both use.”
Gerardo Galvez-Zamora
Gerardo Galvez-Zamora, a staff writer, would interview the late rock icon Jim Morrison, lead singer of the Doors. He said he loves the group because it connects him with his dad.
“He [Morrison] feels very psychedelic. I have always loved the Doors,” said Galvez-Zamora. “I wonder what his mindset would be. I think he would be an interesting character to talk with, I think he is really cool.”
GhostlyKarma
Our illustrator, who goes by their online handle GhostlyKarma, would pick Japanese manga artist Eiichiro Oda, or author M.L Forman.
“I feel like it’d be more of a deep dive into their world building/exchanging story ideas than an interview,” said GhostlyKarma. “[Forman] created the ‘Adventurers Wanted’ book series that helped me basically survive childhood.”
Inspired by Forman’s books, GhostlyKarma wants to create a spinoff series.
“The questions I’d have for him would be to make sure [the spinoff] would be accurate/possible in the world he created. Unfortunately, he passed in 2022,” GhostlyKarma said.
Rachel Aubrey
Rachel Aubrey, The Globe’s faculty advisor, would choose to interview her favorite film actress of all time, Audrey Hepburn.
“The one thing I would ask would be if she ever starred in a movie she regretted. The next thing I would ask is if she ever considered sitting in the director’s chair,” said Aubrey. “Audrey was elegant, she was poised, she loved her children (two sons) and she was authentically herself.”
