Allie Marini : part thirteen

13. How does a poem begin?

I’m not sure, but I can usually tell you where they end.

Allie Marini : part twelve

12. Why is poetry important?

Because it makes you stop & squint & not trample the flowers you hadn’t noticed because you were so focused on where you were going.

Allie Marini : part eleven

11. How important is music to your poetry?

On the surface, not terribly, but a lot of my best ideas are sparked by a song lyric or the feeling that a song makes me have. One of my favorite pieces I wrote specifically for the literary journal Memoir Mixtapes, based on a poem by Nicole Blackman that had been set to music by the Golden Palominos – my first chapbook was titled after a lyric from a song by The Church, & a lot of my titles are sideways references to music. So it sneaks its way in, & hopefully someone sees the thing I’ve tucked away. Music is kind of an “Easter egg” in my writing.

Allie Marini : part ten

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

“Poem (My Hayseed Harelequin)” by Karen Volkman, from Spar, and every poem in Nicole Blackman’s collection Blood Sugar

Allie Marini : part nine

9. What other poetry books have you been reading lately?

The most recent ones I’ve read are The Future by Neil Hilborn, Terrible Blooms by Melissa Stein, & What Fresh Hell by Emily O’Neill

Allie Marini : part eight

8. What poets changed the way you thought about writing?

Fewer “famous” poets than you might think & more peers: Nicole Blackman, Daphne Gottleib, Maggie Estep, Melissa May, Karen Volkman,  Nazelah Jameson, Erin Belieu, Christine No, Emma Bolden, Cassandra Dallett, Amy Gerstler, Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz, Clementine von Radics, Sarah Kay, Leah Sewell, Melissa Stein, Victoria Chang, Margaret Atwood, Erica Jong, & others I’m surely forgetting right now.

Allie Marini : part seven

7. What do you find most difficult about writing poetry?

Oh, everything. I’m very much like Dorothy Parker in that “I hate writing, but I love having written.” Ideas. Picking the right words. Form, structure, “Will anyone besides me get this? If they get it, will they care?” – all of it’s hard to me. But sometimes that’s what makes it rewarding, sometimes I feel like I’m holding my breath when I write & then when I’m done I let it out, that same dizzy, heart-pounding sensation. 

Allie Marini : part six

6. What do you feel poetry can accomplish that other forms can’t?

Poetry can tell a whole story in a few lines – it doesn’t need to waste time on characters or exposition, it’s like a microcosm of the world. It’s one of the few forms where it doesn’t need to rely on a scene or a structure even – sometimes all it needs is a mood or a word that hits in just the right way. I think the brevity of most poetry is something that any prose writer can learn from – the perfect words chosen in just the right order can pack more punch than pages of neat prose.

Allie Marini : part five

5. 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 used to, but in the past few years that’s narrowed. Most of my first drafts & edited drafts are only seen by my partner (Brennan DeFrisco), who is also a poet. Then when I feel like pieces are ready, I send them out to editors. Most of the time no one sees my work until & if it’s published. I do have a social group of writers on Twitter, but not one I share drafts with. I have a fiction partner (Emma Burcart) who I met in my MFA program, & we exchange work, but my poetry is often created in a little bubble of my own. I had a few bad experiences with trusting my work with some beta readers & it’s been hard for me to trust my drafts with others. It’s one of precious few things I miss about the MFA experience.

Allie Marini : part four

4. Has your consideration of poetry changed since you began?

I would hope so – I think if my consideration of it hadn’t changed, I’d still be stuck where I was as a teen or early 20s writer, which would mean my work hadn’t grown, evolved, or improved. I’m not embarrassed by my old work – it was necessary to get me to where I am now – but I’m also glad that I’ve evolved past it. That has less to do with academia or my MFA degree & more to do with active engagement with poetry peers, reading what they’re writing, how they’re doing it, & the constant influence of ideas that you can achieve through poets + social media.

Allie Marini : part three

3. How do you know when a poem is finished?

I don’t think they ever really are, because sometimes I’ll think they’re done – sometimes they’re even published – & I’ll come back to them later & find little things to tweak. For me, they can be mostly done, but still evolving depending on whether or not I’m looking at them. Usually when I finish a good first draft or first edited draft, I’ll feel relief, & that’s when I know it’s done for now.

Allie Marini : part two

2. How did you first engage with poetry?

I’m not entirely sure, to be honest. My mom was a Latin teacher, so she used to read Bulfinch’s mythology to me, & Shel Silverstein in rotation as a child – I went through a creepy-girl obligatory Poe phase when I was around 12, but the first poetry I remember buying for myself in middle school was a collection called Ain’t I a Woman?, then I found Margaret Atwood’s Collected Poems I & II at a library yard sale. In 8th grade when I was having problems with bullying & self-harm, my English teacher noticed & gave me a blank notebook & a copy of Ariel.

Allie Marini : part one

Allie Marini is a cross-genre writer holding degrees from both Antioch University of Los Angeles & New College of Florida. She was a 2018 Shitty Women in Literature nominee, and has been a finalist for Best of the Net and nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Her masthead credits include Lunch Ticket, Spry Literary Journal & Mojave River Review. She has published a number of chapbooks, including Pictures from the Center of The Universe (Paper Nautilus, winner of the Vella Prize) and Southern Cryptozoology: A Field Guide to Beasts of the Southern Wild (Hyacinth Girl Press, finalist for the SFPA’s Elgin Award) In addition to her work on the page, Allie was a member of Oakland’s 2017 National Slam Team. A native Floridian now freezing to death in the Bay Area, Allie writes poetry, fiction, and essays. Find her online: www.alliemarini.com

Photo: Brennan DeFrisco

1. What are you working on?

Always a few things at once – Right now I have about 2 short story collections, 4 poetry manuscripts, & 2 novels in some stage of completion. I’m 4 poems shy of completing a linked new poetry manuscript that started as my April 30/30 month, & I’m struggling with 2 short stories that I’ve gotten about half-done & then tapped out on.