BCC Shines a Light On: Joanna Theiss
Name of the piece published by BCC:
What’s Gone Bad at Aunt Margarete’s
When/where was it originally published:
Angel Rust Magazine, November 2021
Tell us more about your piece! What is the background of the piece? What led you to write it? What’s your process?
The idea was planted during a visit to my parents’ house in Florida. My mother had been diagnosed with breast cancer and I was helping out with her appointments. My parents would probably like me to point out that their fridge was not nearly as bad as Aunt Margarete’s, but looking through it led me to think about how the evidence of decline can show up in our homes.
Once I got home, I started developing Aunt Margarete, giving her a German-American background similar to my family’s, a love of sausages like Braunschweiger, and a saucy independence that came from never marrying and relying only on herself. I thought about all the items in her fridge and how they related to who she was and how she was losing that independence. I tend to start with character and build from there. I’m a big fan of lists, though they usually don’t come through in the final draft as obviously as this one.
How did you feel when it was first published and how have your thoughts or feelings on the piece changed from then to now?
When it was first published, the piece read to me like fiction, though Aunt Margarete felt real to me. Since it’s been published, my parents have moved deeper into Aunt Margarete’s world. Now I can feel how true it is.
Is there a specific message you would like readers to take away from reading this piece?
I hope readers see beyond the gross-out elements to realize that old age will come to all of us if we’re lucky. Just as we would hope that, in our eighties and nineties, people would see our humanity and individuality, I hope they’ll see this in the character of Aunt Margarete.
What else would you like to tell readers about your writing? (Doesn’t have to refer only to your BCC piece)
I came to writing after a career as a lawyer, where I never felt comfortable in my own skin (or in my navy blue pantsuit). I feel so grateful to be able to write fiction, which was a dream of mine from when I was eight years old, and to have found a welcoming community of writers online.
Where can readers find more of your work? (Website/social media, etc)
My website is www.joannatheiss.com. Instagram: @joannatheisswrites, Twitter/X: @joannavtheiss, and bluesky: @joannavtheiss.bsky.social
