About “The Fullness of the House” & “Estranged”

1. What was your motivation for writing “The Fullness of the House” & “Estranged”?

The memory of the routine of food preparation by women and the satisfaction inherent in the consumption of the midday meal, the largest meal of the day, on its own and in relation to the leisure of the tourists on a typical summer day on a Greek island prompted “The Fullness of the House.”

The feeling of having moved beyond a place brought forward “Estranged,” in which the speaker no longer feels at home where she is and hence even the items in her apartment remind her of a life that she is leaving or has left.

2. What challenges—if any—did you have writing your poems?

These poems came to me fairly easily. “The Fullness of the House” required very little revision. “Estranged” underwent several revised versions, going from a poem of seven stanzas to the final poem of three stanzas.

3. What is your favourite line—if any—in “The Fullness of the House”?

I don’t have a favorite line in “The Fullness of the House.” The ending, however, was not anticipated and immediately brought me to the title.

4. What is your favourite line—if any—in “Estranged”?

Likewise, I don’t have a favorite line in “Estranged.” The ending was a bit of a surprise. I was just following the progression of the poem when it presented. It brought to mind the climbing houses at the beginning of the poem in relation to the speaker’s inclination to move forward.

5. What do you want people to walk away with after reading “The Fullness of the House” & “Estranged”?

For “The Fullness of the House,” I’d like the reader to have a sense of the embodiment of the house, of the work of the women who labored within the house, resulting in a feeling of satiation, satisfaction, and fullness, and also of the repetition of this work brought into contrast with the leisure of the tourists.

I hope that “Estranged” conveys the overall sense of how one can feel when a shift in one’s life circumstances is about to occur or has occurred, and how one’s surroundings can hold memories or represent a life that’s changing.

6. Is there anything else you would like to talk about regarding “The Fullness of the House” & “Estranged” that hasn’t been asked?

My experiences in Greece led to these poems in which the speaker is both a participant and an observer in the events. While the internal shift of the speaker in “Estranged” could have happened elsewhere, the scene is decidedly in Greece, where the items in the home have taken on significance and in which the woman’s life is often centered.

In “The Fullness of the House,” the very idea of women’s work, specifically meal preparation, in Greece is addressed in relation to its importance within the home. There is a stability in domestic life that contrasts with the temporal experience of the tourist.

Reading

1. What are you currently reading?

I’ve been reading Molly Peacock’s The Widow’s Crayon Box: Poems and A Friend Sails in on a Poem; Edge of Highway by J. A. Lagana; and On the Level: Poems on Living with Multiple Sclerosis by Bryan R. Monte.

2. Do you have a favourite book? If so, what is it?

It’s hard to pinpoint a favorite book when I’ve read many over decades. One I have returned to is Ritsos in Parentheses, Edmund Keeley’s translation of Greek poet Yannis Ritsos’s poetry. I took the book to Greece with me, along with many others, notably The Norton Anthology of Poetry. I continued my study of modern Greek with Ritsos’s book. I’ve read so many books of poetry it would be unfair to name one or two of the books by living poets, so I’ll mention two by those no longer with us: The Sentence that Ends with a Comma by Dean Kostos and Czeslaw Milosz’s Bells in Winter.

3. What is your favourite poet or author, if any?

My favorite authors can change.

4. Do you gravitate towards reading genres outside the ones you write?

I read a lot of journalistic writing, some essays, and some memoirs and other prose writing, but I have many books of poetry to get to, so most of my reading is poetry.

Writing

1. Why do you write?

I’ve nearly always written, from letter writing as a younger child to journalistic writing in secondary school to poetry. I wrote my first poem as part of a creative writing class in college. I probably continued to write poetry to tap into something that was ephemeral or not readily accessible. I like the way writing can preserve moments, like a snapshot that allows one to see the obvious and perhaps sense the unobvious. I write because I can. It’s part of who I am.

2. What do you love about being a poet?

I love the centering and grounding that can come from poetry and the community it can create. Poetry is like a good friend who will always be there for you. It’s like a dance partner who at times leads and at other times follows, but can be completely in sync.

3. What time of the day do you write, and do you have a writing routine?

I write at different times of the day. For years, I would write mostly late at night or in the early morning hours. I wrote longhand. It was important to feel the poem by hand. Now I write on my phone. I often revise on the computer, or I print out the poem and revise using a pen.

4. Where do you get your ideas from?

Ideas can come from almost anywhere. Often, it is an image that prompts a poem, but an idea or even a title can reveal a poem. I’m a prolific writer, so there’s no lack of inspirational sources.

5. How long does it take you to write your projects?

That varies. Some poems and manuscripts take years to finish, and some come together fairly quickly. I tend to revise a poem over a number of years, but again, that depends on the poem. Some poems are written in one sitting with little or no revision. Others are revised over months, and more often years, sometimes decades. I don’t believe in abandoning a poem. Most poems can be reworked or revised successfully.

6. What advice would you give to other authors/writers/poets?

Persevere. Writing, revising can be hard work. Sending out work, even harder. Learn to take rejection in stride. There will likely be a lot of it. I look at rejection as an opportunity to revise and strengthen the work, if needed. Support the work of others, either by acknowledging their work and/or by purchasing a book. Read a lot, and read work that’s different from yours, even if it’s in the same genre. It will open your mind to the possibilities of expanding your own work.

7. What project(s) are you currently working on?

I’m currently working on a number of manuscripts, finishing several and revising others.

Thank you!