Conyer Clayton : part five

How does a poem begin?

With the intention to dig.

Conyer Clayton : part four

How important is music to your poetry?

Music is poetry unfettered by language and voice. So yeah, it's important.

Conyer Clayton : part three

What do you find most difficult about writing poetry?

Honing in on the thickest meat. I generally do not begin a poem with a specific purpose in mind, rather, my inner world/truth reveals itself to me as I write, so figuring just precisely where the truest kernal lies is the hardest part for me.

Conyer Clayton : part two

How do you know when a poem is finished?

I know a poem is finished when it stops screaming at me, and starts singing. Or humming. Sometimes whispering.

Conyer Clayton : part one

Conyer Clayton is an Ottawa based writer who aims to live with compassion, gratitude, and awe. She has 3 chapbooks out or forthcoming: Undergrowth (bird, buried press, 2018), Mitosis (In/Words Magazine and Press, August 2018), and For the Birds. For the Humans. (battleaxe press, 2018). Her poetry/music collaborative album with Nathanael Larochette, If the river stood still, will be released August 2018. Her work appears in ARC, Prairie Fire, The Fiddlehead, The Maynard, In/Words, Puddle of Sky Press, Coven Editions, Bywords, Transom, and others. She won Arc's 2017 Diana Brebner Prize, 3rd place in Prairie Fire's 2017 Poetry Contest, and honorable mention in The Fiddlehead's 2018 poetry prize. She is a member of the sound poetry ensemble Quatuor Gualuor. Check out conyerclayton.com for updates on her endeavors.

What are you working on?

I am currently working on a manuscript of surrealist prose poems inspired by dreams, as well as another prose poetry manuscript about reincarnation. I am also working on a longer manuscript with poems about the body; our bodies the notion of wellness, our bodies as symbols of death, our bodies as manifestations of our mental state, our bodies and ownership or lack thereof.