About “What does it mean to be an accomplice?,” “The Can,” & “Hummingbird”

1. What was your motivation for writing “What does it mean to be an accomplice?,” “The Can,” & “Hummingbird”?

My main motivation for writing these pieces was to investigate the emotionality within my immediate familial relationships.  I am particularly interested in the ways that I can use poetry to investigate my own interior feelings towards those around me.

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

The biggest challenge in constructing these pieces was in attaining the right level of separation for each of them.  I wanted to ensure that readers absorbing poetry through written text would be able to understand the experiences outlined in the poems.

3. What is your favourite line—if any—in “What does it mean to be an accomplice?”?

I love thinking about an “abyss” in all its forms: universal, experiential, literal.  I really appreciate the power of that word at the conclusion of this poem.

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

I like the line “an earworm of the heartiest varietal” because of the way it breaks the poem’s rhythm as the piece transitions into a second half.

5. What is your favourite line—if any—in “Hummingbird”?

Ars poetica has always interested me, and I like the line “what hovered was full of poetry, really,” because I’ve spoken with my students about how much of what we experience in the world, in more ways than one, can feel poetic.

Reading

1. What are you currently reading?

I just finished “The Plot” by Jean Hanff Korelitz.

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

Although I have several, I’ve been re-reading the work of Elizabeth Bishop and W. H. Auden over the past few weeks.

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

Always.  I find that reading fiction often ignites my desire to write poetry, and vice verse.

Writing

1. Why do you write?

I write to feel, and to process feelings and emotions.  I write to understand myself and my place in the world.  I write to decompress, to think, or to escape.

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

Right now, I have taken a break from writing as I focus on teaching my seventh graders.  It’s a busy time of year!  But I am planning to restart a few different projects, including compiling a series of short stories from last summer into a modest anthology and continuing to explore myself through poetry.