Singing Like Yma Sumac
An Interview
with author Cheryl Merrill

In her essay, “Singing Like Yma Sumac,” Cheryl Merrill focuses on voice and communication.  “Voice,” she says, “is as hard to find as a diamond, yet as symbolic, mesmerizing and lustrous.  There is no natural outpouring of voice.  You have to dig for it, you have to write and write and write and write and write.  Voice is a changeling; you have to pin its shape to the page.  And yet you are your voice.  You will find it in passion.”

 Merrill’s interest in communication began at an early age, when she bought her first camera. “I took and take pictures.  Lots and lots of pictures.  I take pictures of toenails, of clouds, of the insides of flowers, of eyes.”

Her fascination in voice was also sparked, when she was young, by her early interest in books.  Still an avid reader, Merrill enjoys learning about the scent, light, and sound of communication.  Some of the books that have influenced her most on this subject are The Emperor of Scent, In the Blink of an Eye, and Gifts of Unknown Things.

Reading about and being among elephants, the subject of this essay, has taught Merrill many things.  Most importantly, she has learned silence from these animals.  “An elephant can sneak up behind you and you will not even hear it breathing. Their language—body language plus vocabulary—is not so different from ours.  The challenge is to put it into words.  I learned from elephants that our human voice is but one of many voices upon this earth.”

Merrill describes her writing process as “messy”: “For me, the process of writing is like wrestling with a huge jigsaw puzzle with blood all over it.  I am never composed when writing and strange bedfellows always show up with bed hair.  I keep reminders posted around my desk to help center my focus:

‘Rub two things together.’
‘No extra words.’
‘Re-view every sentence.’
‘Story Story Story Story.’
‘No dead places.’
‘Music Music Music.’ ”

—Corey Ginsberg