Author Michael Magee, a retired English teacher, artist, and playwright, lives in Tacoma, Washington. He has been writing for 60 years, starting when he was 20. His first book, Cinders of My Better Angels, was published in 2011 by MoonPath Press. Michael has been a member of the writers’ group Poet’s Table for about 20 years. When Michael is not writing, he loves playing the piano and the clarinet, reading, playing chess, music concerts, film noir, and travel.
Which genres do you cover?
Michael Magee: Poetry, travel writing, coloring books for children, plays and scripts, letters, memoir, and poetry/photography books.
Which is the latest book you had published, and what is about?
Michael Magee: Shiny Things, (2025, MoonPath Press) about my recent trip to Budapest, highlights the bridges, art museums, and street life of the city. The Second section Pro Femina is about the women in my life including my late wife, my mother, and the women who came to life through paintings at the Budapest National Gallery. I go from jazz and Bach to movie queens, i.e. Audrey Hepburn and the history of lipstick. The second and third sections discuss inner and outer landscapes from the Pacific Ocean to Greenland, and the natural world of birds, insects, flowers, and locales, from Pacific Northwest gardens and parks around me to the cemeteries of Budapest. All literally touchstones of my life.
At which book events can readers find you?
Michael Magee: I will read from my latest book, predominately poems about women and women artists. The cover of the book, Woman Playing the Cello by Robert Bereny, expresses passion in its red accents and the woman’s sensuous embrace of the cello; my poem I Hugged the Brandenburg Concerto #2 picks this up. Book events are at King’s Books, Tacoma, WA, on Friday, February 14, 6 p.m.; at Book Tree in Kirkland, WA, on Saturday, May 3, 3 p.m., and at PostMark in Auburn, WA, on Wednesday, June 4, 6 p.m. There is also an upcoming Zoom reading event; you can register at https://moonpathpress.com/ReadingInvitation15March25.htm.
Which book event connecting you with readers is your favorite and why?
Michael Magee: I like the small intimate ones. For instance, I read at a local Conservatory among flowers and plants, and at a Senior Housing (SHAG) building in a small living room situation. I try to always create a feeling of intimacy wherever I read; and I have used taped music and will again at the King’s Reading on Valentine’s Day.
Do(es) your book(s) have any specific messages to your readers and, if so, which are they?
Michael Magee: My messages are to catch the moment of spontaneity, observe what’s around you in coffeeshops, cafés, walking in cinematic detail (setting, light, action, dialogue). Read for pleasure. My writing captures the spark of the visual, and I (like Proust) write about others who catch my fancy. Also, as Proust says about travel, “having new eyes” and developing your “ear” for cadences and vernacular.
Which writer(s) keep(s) inspiring you and why?
Michael Magee: Marcel Proust for his sensuous detail and precise observation, Lawrence Durrell for his story-telling romance and passion, Yeats for his muscular cadences and dramatic touch. Hilary Mantel for her historical sense of character and general fun, and Dickens, the master of narrative.
Do you have any specific writing habits?
Michael Magee: My writing habits are to write everywhere I go, on the bus, in coffeeshops, on napkins, newspapers, anywhere there is paper in any form and a flat service to put my pen to. I use a variety of pens for the occasion, come home immediately, and start typing with the lines still in my head. Seize it while it’s fresh like a salad.
What are you currently working on?
Michael Magee: I’m working on a new collection called Crowed about the natural world of birds.
Which book are you currently reading simply for entertainment?
Michael Magee: I am just now reading The Mirror and the Light, last in the Wolf Hall trilogy, by Hilary Mantle.
What advice would you give any aspiring author?
Michael Magee: My advice is to have a wide variety of experiences and interests, music, theater, sports, play an instrument if possible. Talk to people, let them have the stage. Have a variety of friends, not just professionals; they give you material. Listen for messages. Find your OWN inspiration.
Michael Magee’s books can be found in libraries and bookstores such as King’s in Tacoma, WA, at online bookstores, at https://www.moonpathpress.com/MichaelMagee.htm and on Amazon.com.
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