From San Diego Union-Tribune (Dec 4, 2006)
Biobytes: Jim Miller
Jim Miller teaches English and labor studies at San Diego City College. He is a co-founder of San Diego City Works Press, an editor of the journal City Works (www.cityworkspress.org/journal.html) and director of the San Diego City College Literary Center and the San Diego City College International Book Fair (www.sdcitybookfair.com). A co-author and editor of several books, Miller, 41, also has published nonfiction, fiction and poetry in a range of newspapers, magazines and journals. His first novel, “Drift,” will be out next year. Miller, who has a doctorate in American cultural studies, lives in downtown San Diego with his wife and sometimes co-author, Kelly Mayhew, and their son, Walt, 2.
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How does technology affect your writing process?
Practically, technology is a huge aid to my writing when it comes to research. Sites such as AbeBooks.com allow me to buy rare books from stores across the United States. The archives at places such as Wayne State University are invaluable for my work in labor studies and literary research. The mobility of the laptop lets me to do thorough writing and editing (the kind the notebook won't allow) far from my study. The Internet has enabled me to foster a virtual community among the San Diego Writers Collective and friends of City Works Press. But technologies of mass communication also bring the capacity to thrust the detritus of the world into your most intimate and/or sacred spaces if you let them – from the unwanted work e-mail at home to the soul-killing cell phone conversations one overhears in the most unexpected places. So, it's a mixed bag, I suppose. One has to negotiate with it.
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