About “Red” & “Forget Logic”

1. What was your motivation for writing “Red” & “Forget Logic”?

I wanted to capture what struck me about each of these women and their lives.

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

I think the challenge is always to find the most creative, visual language to express what I’m trying to get across and to get to a place of compassion in the process of writing.

3. What is your favourite line—if any—in “Red”?

This line (actually two lines): “Even her sofas are red—and her stories, / hot monologues on men and life.”

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

“Will she dance again in high heels and jeans / to the warm tones of bouzoukis?”

5. What do you want people to walk away with after reading “Red” & “Forget Logic”?

I want to raise questions about acceptance, compassion, hope, especially when judging a person negatively or confronting a situation that is hard for us to accept.

6. Is there anything else you would like to talk about regarding “Red” & “Forget Logic” that hasn’t been asked?

Maybe just to mention that color is important to me and comes into many of my poems. I have a chapbook of color poems, though “Red” wasn’t included in that collection.

Reading

1. What are you currently reading?

A novel, “Oh, William!” by Elizabeth Strout and poems from various journals that I read online. 

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

It’s hard to choose one favorite. One of my favorites is the novel “All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr.

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

I love poets ranging from Robert Frost to Mary Oliver, Naomi Shihab Nye, Sharon Olds, and almost all the poets whose work I read in ONE ART: a journal of poetry.  Among my favorite authors are Ocean Vuong, Celeste Ng, Elizabeth Strout, and Kristin Hannah.

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

Besides poetry, I enjoy reading novels and memoirs.

Writing

1. Why do you write?

I enjoy painting with words, trying to capture whatever strikes me or draws my attention in some way.

2. What do you love about being a poet?

I love being able to say a lot in a few lines, to capture the essence of things, to make beauty even from something ugly.

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

I don’t have a writing routine, but I’m more of a morning person. Once I get a first draft down on paper (in the morning), I can write at any time of day.

4. Where do you get your ideas from?

I write about everyday life—family, friends, relationships, food, nature, something someone says, whatever makes me stop and think and feel.

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

Anywhere between a few days to a few weeks. Once the first draft is down on paper, I keep thinking about it, revising, polishing it until it feels finished.

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

Feedback helps—good or bad—but write from your heart, listen to yourself, what feels right to you.

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

I am working on a collaboration of food poems with a poet friend in Scotland, Neil Leadbeater.