What poets changed the way you thought about writing?
Neil Hilborn was one of the first poets that taught me a lot about “loosening up” and not assuming that poetry had to use a certain vocabulary. I’ve also been stunned by the possibilities that Danez Smith and Victoria Chang create in their work. Last but not least, I am continually learning from my friends, who are the poets that I love to read the most: Victoria Mbabazi and Sarah Hilton keep showing me what beautiful poems can be.
What do you find most difficult about writing poetry?
I usually write poetry out of an abundance of emotion. I find it hard to then articulate those feelings in a way that resonates outside of my subjective experience. I love confessional poetry that reads like it’s staying true to a feeling while also elevating it into something artful. I struggle to write my unfiltered feelings into more than just a rant on the page.
What do you feel poetry can accomplish that other forms can’t?
I view poetry very similarly to short stories. It’s like a burst of feeling that you can communicate without losing momentum over pages and pages of writing. But whereas short stories require more of a framework, with poetry you can focus on the foundation alone. That isn’t to say that poetry is “simpler” than fiction; as someone who predominantly writes fiction, I find that poetry has a level of complexity that remains both inspiring and challenging to me.
How do you know when a poem is finished?
I know when a poem is finished when I can stop thinking about it. There may always be a word to tweak or an image to improve, but when I can submit it or share it and not feel the need to provide any caveats, I feel like it’s done. When I’m writing confessional poetry, and I feel that whatever emotion sparked the poem has been contained by it, I can walk away.
Photo credit: Abynaya Kousikan
What are you working on?
I’m currently working on a short story collection, as I’m definitely a fiction writer first and foremost. In terms of poetry, I’d like to try writing another chapbook; I feel like I’ve learned a lot since my first one, and I want to write poems that reflect how my writing style has changed.
