Annick Yerem : part five

How does a poem begin?

It begins with a song or a line in my head, often while I´m out walking with my dog.

It begins with a film, with a photo, a painting, a smell, a sound.

It begins when I am willing to listen.

Annick Yerem : part four

When you require renewal, is there a particular poem or book that you return to? A particular author?

https://gladdestthing.com/poems/the-orange

https://onbeing.org/poetry/wonder-woman/

https://bearbones.blog/2018/12/11/rattled/

As I am chronically ill, I often gravitate towards these poems. I love the hopefulness and strength in them.

Annick Yerem : part three

What poets changed the way you thought about writing?

Naomi Shihab Nye. She has a very special way of looking at little things and lifting them up. Caroline Bird, who is hugely inspiring. Kate Clanchy, her own work and the work she does with her outstanding students. Christina Thatcher, whose collection How To Carry Fire showed me there is a way to make something astonishing and nurturing out of pain. 

Annick Yerem : part two

What do you find most difficult about writing poetry?

That is such a good question, it really made me think about the whole process. I don´t find it difficult. If anything, I find the process of getting it out in the world difficult, but I am slowly learning that there are so many ways of doing just that. To me, it´s a thing of beauty when a ´gift-poem` is suddenly there, when all I have to do is catch the words before they leave. Some poems are hard work, some are rubbish, some I love even years later. The difficult thing may be to not define your self-worth by it. But that would a very different question and a very long answer.

Annick Yerem : part one

Annick Yerem lives and works in Berlin. In her dreams, she can swim like a manatee. Annick tweets @missyerem and has, to her utmost delight, been published by Pendemic, Detritus, @publicpoetry, RiverMouthReview, #PoetRhy, Anti-Heroin-Chic, Rejection Letters, Dreich, 192, Eat The Storms podcast, The Failure Baler, Rainbow Poems and Wombwell Rainbow. She is currently working on her first chapbook, St. Eisenberg and The Sunshine Bus, which will be published by Hedgehog Poetry Press in 2022.

https://missyerem.wordpress.com. https://linktr.ee/annickyerem

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/with a writing group, The Flaming Flower Society. We are five writers from Scotland, England, the US and Germany and a lot of ideas and poems start in this group. It is a safe space and I trust them with everything I write. Am also a member of the German Stanza of the Poetry Society, where we share and/ or workshop poems. Whenever I can afford it, I get feedback from mentors/ writing coaches. I was lucky enough to work with Tara Skurtu last year and this month I am getting valuable feedback from Wendy Pratt on some of my poems. Wendy also facilitates wonderful online workshops and courses.