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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Amherst chapter.

Amidst a freak snowstorm in October, Amity Gaige, the visiting writer at Amherst College,sat down with Her Campus Amherst to talk about what inspires her most.  Just shy of 40, Amity Gaige has compiled a list of achievements  that those double her age would envy.  Her 2005 novel O My Darling won her the distinguished honor of 5 Under 35 by the National Book Foundation, and her novel The Folded World, which came out in 2007, won ForeWord Book of the Year, among numerous other awards.  Amity has also written for many magazines, including O Magazine and The Literary Review.
 
 
When did you first decide that you wanted to become a writer?
I began writing creatively very early, around 6 or 7 years old.  I don’t remember a time when I was not writing.  Even early journals and diaries contain my childish thoughts and dreams, and even criticisms of my own writing.
 
 
How do you get in the mood to write?
The right mood is very important.  I think reading poetry is the best way to do it.  A poem is such a concentrated work, distilled down to its essence.  A poet has mulled over her words for hours or even years.  So when I read a poem, I feel closer – immediately – to a way of seeing or believing that makes me want to write too.
 
 
If you could be any literary character, who would you be?
Ha!  Great question.  Most of the great ones get killed off.  I’d like Anna Karenina’s wardrobe, but not her fate.  How about Mrs. Dalloway?  That way I can get written by Virginia Woolf.
 
 
Any upcoming projects we should know about?
Yes, I’ve got a new novel coming out in the winter of 2013.  It’s called “Schroder”.  I hope you like it.
 
 
What’s your favorite book?
My favorite book changes depending on my stage in life.  Right now I might have to say that my favorite book is Joe Gould’s Secret, a book I teach in my course on unreliable narrators.  It’s a work of non-fiction; an extended portrait of a liar written by a man named Joseph Mitchell, who was able to see real people more fully and more expansively than most can.  It’s a short, swoon of a book.

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Danica Richards is a student at Amherst College majoring in English & Environmental Studies. Her interests include environmental education, politics, and writing. She also enjoys running and volunteering at animal shelters.
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Evelyn is the Editor-in-Chief of the Amherst branch of Her Campus. She was a features intern at Seventeen Magazine during the summer of 2011 and a features intern at Glamour Magazine during the summer of 2013. She is a French and English major in the class of 2014 at Amherst College. She is also on Amherst's varsity squash team. She is an aspiring travel writer/novelist, and loves running, ice cream, and Jane Austen.