Guest Blog: An Interview with Deborah Taffa —2022 Alumna and Rona Jaffe Foundation Fellow
by our Spring 2023 Seattle University Interns: Isabella Martino, Kat Pursell, and Viv Vargas-Silva (edited for clarity and brevity)
Deborah Taffa is a writer, teacher, traveler, mom, and Hedgebrook Alumna who was also awarded the Rona Jaffe Foundation Fellowship in 2022.
During a recent interview, Taffa spoke about the impact of her time at Hedgebrook. She stated, “It affected my process by creating sort of a sanctuary as the finish line.”
Taffa mentioned that when she arrived at Hedgebrook, she had just sold her book and had to prepare her manuscript for publishing. In all the chaos of preparing her book, she felt as if she was being put under a microscope.
“To be honest, I was extremely tired and in need of rest.” Taffa fondly remembers the “reflective pause” that the flames in her cottage woodstove provided as she stoked the fire.
Taffa also talked about how she relates to young mothers and the struggle to find space to do work within societal expectations to be a caretaker.
“Be all things to everyone…. As a woman, people depend on you to nurture yet when the time comes for you to work on your own creative process a lot of times there’s guilt involved.”
The Rona Jaffe Foundation allowed Taffa to attend Hedgebrook because “it singled me out” Taffa says. Without the Rona Jaffe Foundation she wouldn’t have had the support from her university to be able to take the time to go to Hedgebrook.
One of Taffa's biggest takeaways from her residency was creating space for herself. “They are giving you an opportunity and it’s up to say, I deserve this. It’s not selfish, it’s necessary or else I am not going to be any good to my community.
