poetry mini interviews

13. How does a poem begin? I’m not sure, but I can usually tell you where they end.

12. Why is poetry important? Because it makes you stop & squint & not trample the flowers you hadn’t noticed because you were so f...

11. How important is music to your poetry? On the surface, not terribly, but a lot of my best ideas are sparked by a song lyric or the fee...

10. When you require renewal, is there a particular poem or book that you return to? A particular author? “Poem (My Hayseed Harelequin)” b...

9. What other poetry books have you been reading lately? The most recent ones I’ve read are The Future by Neil Hilborn, Terrible Blooms ...

8. What poets changed the way you thought about writing? Fewer “famous” poets than you might think & more peers: Nicole Blackman, Daph...

7. What do you find most difficult about writing poetry? Oh, everything. I’m very much like Dorothy Parker in that “I hate writing, but I ...

6. What do you feel poetry can accomplish that other forms can’t? Poetry can tell a whole story in a few lines – it doesn’t need to waste ...

5. 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 used to, bu...

4. Has your consideration of poetry changed since you began? I would hope so – I think if my consideration of it hadn’t changed, I’d still...

3. How do you know when a poem is finished? I don’t think they ever really are, because sometimes I’ll think they’re done – sometimes they...

2. How did you first engage with poetry? I’m not entirely sure, to be honest. My mom was a Latin teacher, so she used to read Bulfinch’s m...

Allie Marini is a cross-genre writer holding degrees from both Antioch University of Los Angeles & New College of Florida. She was a ...