Please share with us the theme(s) that connect these five poems together, and what makes them a collection.
Each of these poems reflects on the theme of science and its limits, and the fundamental element of uncertainty in the human experience. Whether it is in the mysteries of nature, such as how birds navigate while migrating thousands of miles through the night, or why a certain kind of purple dye is the only one that grows richer with time, we are unable to take a clear view of the whole picture of the unfolding of the universe.
In my own experience, I find myself longing to feel ‘home’ in a place I have yet to find in the real world, and finding comfort in the resilience of eagles taking care of their young, even after facing loss. Can we ever fully understand the emotional underpinning of our thoughts and desires? In the case of the scientist Robert Lowell, the conviction of his own beliefs prevented him from seeing anything that contradicted the interpretation he’d already decided to accept.
Birds and places seem to be characters of their own in each of your poems. Is there a place, or two, that inspires you as you write?
Though I love to travel and find it rewarding and stimulating, I think I have found the most inspiration from my daily walks around the neighborhood with our dog. Perhaps it is the fact that we move along at her pace, she often stops to sniff for longer than seems reasonable. It gives me time to look around, and notice the small changes in light and setting from day to day. This time and space sets my mind to wander off, and usually brings forth a topic that I immediately want to head home and begin to write.
In “Small Margins” you say “chaos theory is a misleading name.” Can you tell us more about how this poem came to be, and what made you interested in the topic?
Watching my son play hockey, previously an unfamiliar sport to me, has been equal parts terrifying and exhilarating. Skating adds an element of speed, intensity, and danger that I hadn’t before experienced. The skill level required to even compete is intense, as is the commitment and risk. I was continually amazed at how quickly a game could change momentum, an outcome could change within seconds — goals could break out at any time! While this dynamic has been nerve-wracking, I have enjoyed watching how differently my son reacts to this drama. He loves the very things about it that bring me the most anxiety.
As someone interested in scientific theory, it reminded me of the core paradox in chaos theory: even events too complicated to predict are not technically chaotic, they are extremely sensitive to multiple small inputs and criteria. So, each added element (a strong pass, a quick turn), adds more factors that multiply quickly with each second that passes. A minor difference in skill and timing can change the entire outcome of a game in ways unpredictable just seconds before.
What drew you to writing, and poetry, specifically?
I’ve always been a big reader, but only in the last few years did I feel as though I had a voice as a writer. In discovering the work of Dorianne Laux (thesis advisor during my MFA program), Tony Hoagland, Sharon Olds, and Marie Howe, I was inspired by how they expressed moments of daily life and transformed them into universal human themes, without resorting to cliches or dramatic pronouncements. It transformed the experience of my own life, viewing events big and small, as possible windows into a deeper expression of a connected human experience.
What are some inspirations/motivations that help you write?
Having a group to write with regularly has been transformative. Every Monday night four of us gather on Zoom for an hour. We generate 10 words, a color, a season, and a rule, then write for 30-40 minutes. We read our work out loud to one another at the end.
For those aspiring writers reading your work, what is a piece of advice on writing would you give?
Editing is difficult, but ultimately what elevates a good idea into a great poem. Each writer wrestles with their own elements of craft, as with their understanding of what “final” looks like. Eventually, this hierarchy will trace the path of the poem and guide its development.
One guidepost I’ve found helpful in editing is being ready to jettison what I initially considered the most important line in the poem, the thesis. This development lets me know I’m really getting somewhere! During my first semester nearly every poem I got back from my advisor, the wonderful poet Joe Millar, had the final stanza crossed out — don’t explain, he’d write, in his patient scrawl. Another mentor, Ellen Bass, has referred to this kind of editing as removing the bay leaf before serving a dish. Important for building up flavor while cooking, but ultimately no fun to eat.
How has completing your MFA in poetry play in what/how you write or send out for submissions?
It has made me much more tolerant of rejection! Through my work with other poets and instructors in the program, I gained much more awareness of the challenge of finding the right home for your work. We are lucky to live in a time with a thriving online and print-journal scene. There are so many patient and engaged editors, readers, and volunteers open to spending the time to read your words.
Be encouraged by the opportunities and focus on submission goals rather than acceptance. For example, in the month of July another writer and I committed to sending out work to 100 journals. It led to many rejections, but also more acceptances than I had ever received before.
Is there a craft book or a poet’s work you would recommend to anyone that wants to find inspiration in reading or writing poetry?
The Poet’s Companion, by Dorianne Laux and Kim Addonizio, is a great primer on process and craft. I also love Ten Windows: How Great Poems Transform the World, by Jane Hirshfield.
Do you have a favorite contemporary poet that not enough people have heard about? This is one of my favorite questions to ask as I love adding more poets to my TBR list.
Carrie Fountain, a poet who lives in Austin, Texas.
Is there anything you would like MSR readers to know about your poetry or you as a poet? What are you currently working on?
Currently I’m in the process of sending out my first Chapbook, Erratics, to publishers. It is a series of poems based on my childhood sailing with my father in the Pacific Northwest before he passed away when I was fifteen. Afterwards, I hope to complete a full-length poetry collection. I’m working on that manuscript now and holding space for which direction its focus will take. Trying to remember that uncertainty also makes space for wondrous surprises.
What are some of your other interests/hobbies besides writing?
Reading is a big one. I tend to read more literature and non-fiction than poetry. I’m currently in the middle of Surely You’re Joking Mr. Feynman, a memoir written by the Nobel Prize winning physicist Richard Feynman, full of candid accounts of his pursuits and infused with an irresistible love of life.
I learned to knit a few years ago, and a project on the needles is my companion on the sidelines while I watch my children compete in their various sporting endeavors. As a graphic designer I have obsession with color, currently layering tints and shades of the same hue wherever I can.
I’m brushing up my French, which I spoke growing up with my grandparents. I love being outside — running, hiking, snowboarding, swimming, and sailing — as often as possible with my husband and our three boys. And I’m trying to become a tea person. I was just given a box of full-flower tea, and hoping the spectacle of a floating bloom will inspire me to keep drinking it!
