Sunday 5 August 2018

Kelley Jo Burke : part four

How does your work first enter the world? Do you have a social group or writers group that you work ideas and poems with?

I work in theatre, which is a collaborative form. I also work in documentary, which again means steady interaction with others. So in my writing I am solitary to the point of misanthropy.

Most poetry I write starts as a part of my pre-writing for a larger project—a play or a documentary. It is an incredibly useful way to walk into the metaphorical language that the project will be rooted in—it also tells me a lot about setting, aural landscape and the dialect of characters.

I start with the phrase, I write ‘til I lose steam. Then I go back and start challenging what I’ve got down. When it seems to have living if by no means complete form, I share it with my one trusted reader. Who has made an art out of giving feedback without triggering my (endless) neuroses.

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