Lauren Tess : part one

Lauren Tess’s poetry has appeared in a number of journals including Meridian, Salamander, Cimarron Review, Saranac Review, Tar River Poetry, and Atlanta Review. Lauren is the recipient of a 2021 Open Mouth Poetry Residency in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She’s excited to begin pursuing her MFA at the University of Montana this fall.

How does a poem begin?

For me, it begins with following my mind to a moment or an observation that is lingering with me. Usually this moment has occurred within the past couple of weeks, often the past couple of days. Hopefully in my back pocket I have some deeper questions that will arise and enter the poem as I’m writing it. But I almost always begin with something fairly small and concrete and quotidian.