l. Who are you reading right now?
I am reading Ruth Stone’s What Love Comes to and In the Galaxy and Jane Hirshfield’s Come Thief. I am drawn to
Stone’s work because she was so prolific and captivating in her 80’s and I am
just turning 80 myself. I like her wit,
her intellect, and the strength and confidence of her voice. I love the artful, deceptive simplicity and truth
of Hirshfield’s poems. I’ve for the
first time been reading her Ten Windows, a
wonderful follow up to Nine Gates, both
books offering very fine insights into how and why poems work. I have also just finished Major Jackson’s powerful
new book Roll Deep.
2. Do you write on paper or use your computer to generate a
first draft?
I have composed exclusively on the computer for many years;
however, I am now doing first drafts in a notebook before I touch the computer,
and I am finding this process both more thoughtful and more generative.
3. What books/authors do you keep coming back to?
Pindar and Horace and Neruda for their odes, Sappho for the
beauty and mystery of her largely fragmentary poems. Emily Dickinson is a
favorite as are Robert Frost and David Ferry.
I am also repeatedly drawn to the work of Maxine Kumin, especially The Long Marriage. I go back frequently
to Jean Connor’s beautiful A Cartography
of Peace, a marvelous book of clear and deep poems, beautifully executed.
4. Are you working on a larger project right now?
I am beginning to put together a third book of poems, very
tentatively entitled Pindar’s Daughter. After a long unavoidable hiatus, I am
determined to make real progress before winter sets in again.
5. What Inspires You?
My husband of 56 years died in January. I have recently
written a number of poems born from feelings of loss and grief. Even these
poems, however, are often triggered by nature, as well, especially by animals
or birds, by works of art or music, or by recent political or social events
such as the tragic massive migrations from Africa and Syria. For general subject
matter I try to follow the wise observations of my 95 year old poet friend
Carol Armstrong, whose recent book is so aptly entitled Everything Waits to be Noticed.
No comments:
Post a Comment