poetry mini interviews

How does a poem begin? Differently for different people. For some, it begins in a story. For others, where a story didn’t go. For others, s...

Why is poetry important? It connects us to each other and to the magic.

How important is music to your poetry? Can one exist without the other?

When you require renewal, is there a particular poem or book that you return to? A particular author? Anything by James Tate and Richard Hu...

What other poetry books have you been reading lately? Olio and the selected Bill Knott.

What poets changed the way you thought about writing? In the last seven months, Mei-mei Berssenbrugge, Shane McCrae, Victoria Chang, and Ad...

What do you find most difficult about writing poetry? These days, endings.

What do you feel poetry can accomplish that other forms can’t? Forms of writing? I think poetry is unique in that it doesn’t need to convey...

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'm extremel...

Has your consideration of poetry changed since you began? Absolutely, in almost every way. That may also be a good thing, process-wise.

How do you know when a poem is finished? Endings are the hardest things for me these days, so I don’t, and the older I get, the more unsure...

How did you first engage with poetry? I wrote poems to accompany visual art pieces I made.

Jennifer L. Knox is the author of four books of poems. Her poetry has appeared four times in the Best American Poetry series as well as ...