Issue 8 Writer Spotlight | Saroj Kunnakkat
C+B: Tell us about yourself, Saroj!
SK: I am a neurologist who focuses on epilepsy and seizure management at Montefiore Medical Center. Aside from writing, I love creating visual art, cooking, and spending time with my husband and my toddler daughter (not in that order!).
C+B: How do you define the word "art?"
SK: Art is coaxing beauty out of the mundane, giving form to the shapeless, and wings to the earth-bound.
C+B: What is something you've learned as a creator, that you would want to pass on to younger creators?
SK: Writing can exist alongside other careers and can bring new perspective.
C+B: Describe a time when you experienced a creative breakthrough, a change in process, or a realization about your work.
SK: When I've had new ideas for pieces or thoughts, it's usually when I am otherwise focused on something else. Oftentimes this is in the car in bumper-to-bumper traffic and there is little else to do but ponder. Usually some idea or revelation pops into my head about a potential piece. When I get home, I end up heading straight to my computer when I get home to lay down those thoughts before they disappear.
Find and support Saroj here:
IG: @sarahjococonut
My ideal creative workspace: A room that doubles as both my office but also has a section set aside for quiet writing and art. Perhaps a couch in the corner for reading new books, an easel for paintings, and storage space for art and writing supplies.
If I could have coffee with any creator (past or present) it would be: There are so many choices but the one that comes to mind is Dr. Abraham Verghese. As someone who is a physician and whose family also traces its roots to Kerala, he represents what is good about writing as well as medicine. I would love to learn how he draws from medicine when he approaches writing and vice-versa.
My creative legacy: I would love my work to not only give readers an escape from their day-to-day activities, but also remind people that they are not alone as they go about their routines and wade through the difficult parts of their individual journeys.
