Real-Life Passions Pave Way to PhD Student's Playboy Fiction Contest Win

After Jamie Poissant signed on to study for his PhD in English at the University of Cincinnati, he, his wife and their Chihuahua made a memorable 2,000-mile journey from Arizona to Ohio.

Editors at Playboy magazine, however, are far more fascinated by Poissant's account of a fictional road trip taken through Florida – a journey that highlights father-son relationships via an excursion by two friends seeking to claim a giant pet alligator.

Poissant's short story "Lizard Man" took top honors in the 2007 Playboy College Fiction Contest and appears in the October 2007 edition. The honor garnered Poissant – who publishes under the name David James Poissant – a $3,000 prize, a lot of satisfaction and yes, some strange looks at area stores.

Born in Syracuse, N.Y., Poissant grew up in Lawrenceville, Ga. After earning a bachelor's degree in English at Berry College in Rome, Ga., and marrying his wife, Marla, in 2001, Poissant taught high school English and journalism for four years. Then, it was off to Arizona, where he earned a master's in creative writing at the University of Arizona.

He, Marla and Scooter – their road-ready dog – have settled in Loveland.

"Having lived in New York, Georgia and Arizona, I've learned to adapt to any climate. I actually no longer know where 'home' is," he says. "And that's a startling thing, at first, feeling displaced like that. Still, I hope that, soon, we'll begin to recognize this new city as home."

Poissant also has been published in The Chicago Tribune, The Southern Review, The Georgia Review, The Chattahoochee Review, Willow Springs, ReDivider and the anthology Best New American Voices 2008 (forthcoming, Oct. 8, 2008, Harcourt).

Q) Tell us about the gut reaction and experience of getting the call and letter from Playboy. What was the reaction from friends and family?

A) The Playboy win was huge for me. When I got the call, I was told only that I was a finalist. I then had to provide proof that I was a student. The next week was one of the longest weeks of my life, but then I got the letter in the mail. My wife and I were jumping up and down and screaming, and our dog howled. It was beautiful.

Seeing the magazine was also exciting. I knew there would be artwork to accompany the story, but I had no idea it would be as incredible as it was. The winning piece is breathtaking, as is the work of the finalists. That was the coolest part for me: getting to see how other artists interpreted my story and presented it visually. That was awesome.

Q) How did you become aware of the contest? Is it satisfying to you to have won?

A) Several years ago, I read a fantastic story by Brady Udall in an anthology of University of Iowa Writers Workshop graduates. The story was called "Buckeye the Elder." I loved the story and noticed that it had first appeared in Playboy as winner of the Playboy College Fiction Contest. The next year, I submitted to the contest without success. Then, in the fall of 2006, one of the undergraduates I was teaching in a writing workshop at the University of Arizona brought in a copy of last year's winner. It was so good, I shared it with the class and we studied it as a model. That winter, I submitted to the contest and won. It was very satisfying to win the contest. I had enjoyed several smaller successes in the previous two years, but, each time, a few weeks after the win, the excitement wore off. With the Playboy win, the excitement never faded. I'm still thrilled.

Q) Where were you when “Lizard Man” started taking shape?

A) "Lizard Man" took shape for me, believe it or not, at a Waffle House. I spent a lot of my time in Waffle Houses. Growing up in Georgia, there's a Waffle House on every corner. In some places, you can stand on one corner and see a Waffle House down the street. It's like Starbucks that way, except that it isn't in every other way. So, I'm sitting at this Waffle House in Tucson and I'm working on my laptop and I get this idea for a man who almost loses his job at a diner when a customer sends back his eggs. From there, the story took off, and I wrote the first five or six pages right there, at Waffle House.

Q) In another interview, you said that you prefer to write about the “way people hurt one another and struggle to redeem themselves,” and that you’re intrigued by the ties between fathers and sons. When did you realize this interest, and were there any particular personal incidents which spurred you to pursue it?

A) Regarding fathers and sons, my father and I have always had a fine relationship. However, my best friend growing up had a very strained relationship with his father. He also had trouble coming out to his father, who was intolerant of homosexuality. It seems terrible to me that the love between a father and son, which should be unconditional, could turn conditional for one because of matters of sexual identity.

I do love writing about the "way people hurt one another and struggle to redeem themselves." I think that's because it's something we all do. We all go through life hurting the ones we love, sometimes in big ways, sometimes small, sometimes intentionally, and often by accident.

Q) You chose UC for your doctorate – what stood out for you about this English department when it came to making that decision?

A) After meeting Brock Clarke and Michael Griffith in the spring of 2007 at the Associated Writing Programs Conference in Atlanta, Ga., the decision to come to Cincinnati was an easy one. They're just two of the nicest guys I've ever met, and I really wanted to spend the next four years working with them. Actually, I already knew Michael from the Sewanee Writers' Conference, where he had told me about the program and put it on my radar. I also met several UC students (Josh Bell at Sewanee, Suzanne Warren at Casa Libre in Tucson, and Kristi Maxwell and Michael Rerrick whom I knew from the University of Arizona MFA program), all of whom sold me on the program here at UC. Not to mention, of all the programs I investigated, this one offered the most reasonable teaching load, which I think is very important when trying to balance work, classes, and one's own writing time.

Q) On the lighter side: Have you picked up any copies of this Playboy in local stores?

A) Yes! Marla and I went to the Barnes & Noble in Kenwood the day after the issue went on sale and there were only two copies left. The guy ringing us up looked at us funny, since we had two copies of the same issue, so we explained that I had a story in the magazine, which he thought was pretty cool.

After calling around, I found that the Barnes & Noble at Newport on the Levee had a bunch, so I asked them to hold 20 copies of the issue for me. When I got to the store, another attendant was working the desk. He asked my name and I told him. Then he asked what I had reserved, and I said, "A giant stack of Playboys." He laughed and said, "No, seriously." And I said, "No, seriously, a giant stack of Playboys." He looked flustered but found them and sold them to me, giving me the oddest look the whole time. In that case, I decided not to explain because, really, I was just having too much fun with the whole thing. I like thinking I'll be one of the people this guy talks about tomorrow when he details the crazies that he sees on the job. It was pretty great.

The weirdest thing about the issue is that the centerfold is a girl from Dallas, Ga., a tiny rural town where my wife's parents live. My brother-in-law, who lives in Dallas, called me and said, "I know this girl! She used to come into the movie store all the time." And I said, "Well, now you've seen her naked."