Shannon Mastromonico : part five

How important is music to your poetry?

Music is extremely important. I've always had a very strong connection to music in general, so it has proven to be a big inspiration when I write. Music is lyrical poetry.

Poetry is one of the most important things to me and I almost gave up. I have been writing for thirty years but I have only been actively honing my craft and submitting work for about a year. As soon as I decided to call myself a poet, as soon as I decided to send my work out there, I stepped onto my true path. Since May of 2018, I have been published more than ten times and I self published my first chapbook of poems earlier this year. I truly cannot believe that I waited so long.

Shannon Mastromonico : part four

What poets changed the way you thought about writing?

I started reading Sylvia Plath's work when I was in my late teens and early twenties. Her work and her life had a huge impact on my own work, how I see poetry in general.

Shannon Mastromonico : part three

What do you find most difficult about writing poetry?

The beginning is the most difficult for me, when the page is blank. The first ideas that I write down are what sparks the process, what gets everything going and they come unexpectedly. Before that moment, it's a waiting game.

Shannon Mastromonico : part two

How do you know when a poem is finished?

It's strange because there is a feeling, the way the words sound at the end, maybe. But there is definitely a moment where I just know that it's finished.

Shannon Mastromonico : part one

Shannon Mastromonico was born and raised in Montreal. She has been writing poetry/creating art for over twenty years and is an alumni of the Dawson college photography program. Her work has been published in the journals Montréal Writes, Persephone's Daughters, Snapdragon Journal and Harness Magazine as well as in her  recently self published chapbook. She lives with her husband and kitty, Calliope in the Laurentian Mountains.

What are you working on?

I'm working on my first full length poetry book, which is actually a poetic graphic novel.