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Secret Love Poems by Arlene Ang

Arlene Ang’s Secret Love Poems is a short chapbook of 22 pages, but the poems pack a powerful punch. The incongruous images used in some of these poems come together in unusual and satisfying ways. Readers will be hooked from the first page and the first poem, “The mime under my left breast.”

“The glass slipper on his night stand/is the couplet I swore//never to write after the first act./In a copy of Scientific Monthly,//the average boy steals at least five/street signs before he loses his virginity.//” (Page 1)

The last line says it all, revealing the “secret love.” I think it also sets the stage for the rest of the chapbook. “girls who live dangerously.”

A number of poems in this volume have girls, really women, who live dangerously. A woman involved with a married man, a woman who’s lived a long life and is running out of time, and a girl home alone with a boy she hardly knows and her parents are not home, just to name a few.

Whether these poems are real situations or hidden desires, it is obvious many of these poems are about hidden desires, passions simmering beneath the skin.

From “The 13th Secret Love Poem”:

“I wonder how his leather briefcase/would move against my skin./Twenty meters apart, we are never alone.//” (Page 10)

From “The 22nd Secret Love Poem”:

“We never exchange more than/a few words: my professional advice,/the weather, her next appointment.// She leaves like snow crystals on/my lash. Briefly, the world glitters.//” (Page 19)

In “The 13th Secret Love Poem,” mundane objects like a briefcase have an electric charge, emanating from the poem. A woman in “The 22nd Secret Love Poem” becomes magical to the narrator, helping the world to shine. Ang’s poetry has a luminescence that will stay with readers for many years to come, whether she speaks of passionate love or convivial love.

I cannot praise this volume of poetry enough.

Stay tuned for Part 3 of my interview with her here on Savvy Verse & Wit. Check out the first two parts of the interview with Arlene Ang here and here.

***Don’t forget my Arlene Ang, Secret Love Poems, giveaway***


About the Poet:

Arlene Ang lives in Italy and edits for several literary zines and is a prolific poet.

Part 2 of My Interview with Poet Arlene Ang

Welcome to Part 2 of my interview with Arlene Ang.

I was reading over her answers to the second part of our interview, and it donned on me where else I had heard of Arlene, and it was Poems Niederngasse, which published a poem of mine in 2004. Check out Sacrifice if you are interested.

However, this is not about me, it’s about Arlene, so without further ado, let me welcome Arlene back to Savvy Verse & Wit

4. Have you edited for other magazines? And are the processes and atmospheres similar at those magazines to those at Pedestal?

Before coming to Pedestal Magazine, I was editor of Niederngasse Italian for some years. Presently, I’m also one of the Press 1 editors — more webmistress than editor actually since Valerie Fox and Phyllis Wat do most of the paper/legwork.

Editing for Pedestal is certainly different pace-wise. I find that I have to read submissions every day or get behind. When I was editor for Niederngasse Italian, I remember having to solicit poems for every issue because otherwise there wouldn’t have been any issue. Pedestal has a sleek, businesslike atmosphere. I love the database, sorting out the submissions like a postal worker (one of my dream jobs). When I’m on duty, it feels like a real job behind a real cubicle. No chitchat with co-workers, just 100% concentration.

With Press 1, we’re pretty lax. We discuss the poems we receive and take votes. Oftentimes we’re late, too. The only time, I think, that a Pedestal issue came out late was because the server got hacked.

5. If you were to describe your writing what 5 buzzwords would you choose? And could you elaborate on what those buzzwords mean to you and why they describe your work?

Difficult question. Like standing in front of the mirror and wondering which shoes go better with your dress.

Versatile is the first word that comes to mind. A friend said that, not me, because I like to try different genres from traditional forms to prose poems to photoetry. Photoetry is just how I coined the marriage of photography and poetry. There’s probably an official literary term for it. I did a couple ages ago: Like Turned Tables and Like Electricity.

Evolving. At least that’s how it feels. At some point I broke off from the straight narrative road and entered the Twilight Zone.

Godless. After thirteen years in a Catholic school, it’s hard not to be. It probably shows in my writing.

Experimental. Sometimes I actually imagine myself putting on a lab coat when I write and start poking into bodies and language that shouldn’t concern me.

Inventive. Maybe. I like to think of ways on how to lure in the reader.

6. Do you have any obsessions you would like to share?

Obsessions are my passion. My updated list includes (in alphabetical order) computer games, death, drink, food, mutation, Sims 3, and Tom Waits.

I also get obsessed with words or ideas. This month is eye-patch month and hermit crabs. Last year was amputation, gorilla suit, and shipwreck year. Like with songs I love, I just keep repeating the words or concepts in my writing until I get bored and move on to another subject. I’m worse than a virus.

Part 1 of My Interview with Poet Arlene Ang

I first saw Arlene Ang’s poetry in Pedestal Magazine, and then I saw that she became a guest editor of the magazine. I started reading her blog–Journal Writing and Other Ways to Talk to Myself–soon after, lurking about backstage and reading.

I also discovered she has her own Website where she posts some of her poetry, and offers links to her recent publications. Check out Agoraphobia published in The Chimera and The Itch on My Scalp Means published by Poetry Ireland. These are two of my favorites.

Suffice to say, Arlene and I have been chatting over email for some time and exchanging flowers on Facebook, having a grand old time. I figured since I was reviewing books, why not her chapbook, “Secret Love Poems,” and her new joint book with Valerie Fox “Bundles of Letters Including A, V, and Epsilon.” Arlene was kind enough to send me both books for review. Stay tuned for those reviews.

That brings me to today’s post, a partial interview with Arlene about her chapbook “Secret Love Poems” and her editorial position at Pedestal Magazine. Without further ado, I welcome Arlene to Savvy Verse & Wit.

1. I just love the cover of “Secret Love Poems.” Did you have a hand in selecting the cover and if so, what speaks to you about it or how does it fit the poems inside the volume?
When the publishers asked me if I had any cover image I’d like to use, I immediately started going through the deviantART galleries until I found Oana Cambrea‘s work. When I saw “Black Milk,” I just knew it was the right one. I love how the image itself is open to interpretation. One can see it as a woman lying in bed, a heart nestled in her hair. Or the woman is upside-down, hence head-over-heels, her hair turned into legs with her heart between them. But what I love best is how the white background could be seen as a tooth and the woman’s hair as caries-in many ways the secret love in these poems is like that, something that eats one up by its very nature of having to remain secret.
2. “Secret Love Poems” is a slim volume compared to some other releases I’ve seen. Is this considered a book or chapbook of poetry? Please describe the differences between the two and whether the publication process is different for each type.

“Secret Love Poems” is a chapbook because it’s under 50 pages. A full-length poetry book is at least 70 pages probably because any thinner than that and it would be impossible to bind it. Chapbooks are usually saddle-stapled while books are perfect-bound. It’s trickier to publish a chapbook, I think, since the pages have to be numbered differently because the pages are basically letter-size paper folded in half. With a laser printer, you can make chapbooks at home.
3. You are a poetry editor of Pedestal Magazine, how did you come to this position? What does your position as an editor entail? Are there any submission tricks you’d like to share with readers?

I guest-edited an issue for Pedestal Magazine in 2006. Early 2007, Pedestal editor-in-chief, John Amen asked me if I wanted to become a permanent member of the staff and I said yes. Prior to that, I was something of a regular contributor… though not without my share of rejections. Funnily enough, my first letter from Pedestal Magazine was a rejection.
As staff editor, I’m asked to read for two issues a year. It’s quite smart actually to keep a rotating staff of editors. For every issue, we get something like two thousand poems and to have to do that all year long on your own would certainly be quite overwhelming. When I’m off-duty, I just answer questions anyone might drop in my mailbox.
Submission tricks. Personally, I like to read a group of poems as opposed to just one poem. Because we’ve got different editors for each issue, it would be a good idea to send different genres. You never know who’s behind the purple door. What else? Don’t give up; you may be the next staff editor.

Thanks Arlene. We’re going to have a great time getting to know you and your work. Thanks for taking time out of your busy, busy schedule to answer questions for Savvy Verse & Wit. Stay tuned dear readers, there is more of Arlene to come.

Interview With Poet Bernadette Geyer

I’ve been working on a interview project with Deborah at 32 Poems magazine, and she kindly allowed me to interview past contributors to the magazine. We will be posting the interviews throughout the coming months, and our third interview posted on Deborah’s Poetry Blog of 32 Poems on Feb. 9.

I’m going to provide you with a snippet from the interview, but if you want to read the entire interview, I’ll provide you a link for that as well.

For now, let me introduce to you 32 Poems contributor, Bernadette Geyer:

1. Not only are you a contributor to 32 Poems, but you also have a chapbook of poems published, your own website and your own blog. What “hat” would you consider the most challenging to fulfill and why?

Before “retiring” to become a stay-at-home mother, I worked in public relations. So to me, the website and blog are fairly easy for me to keep up with when I think of them as marketing tools for my writing. The most difficult hat for me to fulfill is being a “writing parent” — it is challenging to find the emotional/psychic space I need to really get into the poem — or article-making frame of mind. I usually cannot create if she is awake and in the house. But I have developed some internal ways of keeping a “creative train of thought” active in my head even when I am doing something completely different.

2. What prompted you to start a blog? How active are you as a blogger? And what types of posts does your blog focus on? Also, do you believe a blog is essential to marketing your work or is the Web site more useful for that purpose?

I started my blog a long time ago, back even before I had “retired” from my full-time PR job. I think it was originally a way of engaging my mind by blogging about the poetic process during my lunch breaks. But I wasn’t a very active blogger. Even now I don’t consider myself very “active.” My posts tend towards the short side – thoughts on poems, references to interesting articles I read, news on my own writing, upcoming readings, or random tidbits I just feel like sharing. I do think a blog is an essential part of a writer marketing his/her work. A web site is a great tool, but very impersonal. I think readers find blogs give them a more personal relationship with a writer than just checking out a static web site. Blogs are great ways of building or broadening an audience for your work.

4. Most writers will read inspirational/how-to manuals, take workshops, or belong to writing groups. Did you subscribe to any of these aids and if so which did you find most helpful? Please feel free to name any “writing” books you enjoyed most (i.e. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott)

I have done all of the above over the past 10-15 years that I’ve been writing. Lately I find “how-to” books to be not very useful in inspiring my work. Exercises are sometimes useful if I just want to get the pen moving (In the Palm of Your Hand by Steve Kowit and The Practice of Poetry ed. by Robin Behn & Chase Twichell, in particular). I find articles, essays and books on poetics to be more inspirational to me in thinking about how I approach my own poems. American Poetry Observed (edited by Joe David Bellamy) was a book I recommend as a collection of poets discussing their own poetics.

I also enjoy and find useful the essays and articles in The Writer’s Chronicle. I don’t have a post-graduate degree in writing, so I try to read everything I can to educate myself. Workshops are not very useful to me anymore except that I have a few good friends who I trust to read my work and provide comments.

I’ve tried forming a writing group among local writing moms, but it’s been hard to keep a regular meeting pattern. I do teach poetry workshops in public elementary schools, and have found Kenneth Koch’s Making Your Own Days and Rose, Where Did You Get That Red? to be very good reminders of how fun it can (and should) be to write for the love of words and language.

Check out Bernadette’s collection of poems, What Remains.


Want to find out what Bernadette’s writing space looks like? What music she listens to while she writes? Find out what she’s working on now, her obsessions, and much more. Check out the rest of my interview with Bernadette here.
Please feel free to comment on the 32 Poems blog and Savvy Verse & Wit.

***Here’s Bernadette’s recently published poem from 32 Poems, here, “Thumbelina’s Mother Speaks: To the Toad’s Mother.”

***Check out
The Bookword Game poll on Suey’s Blog***

Interview with Poet Stephen Alan Saft

I want to welcome Stephen Alan Saft to Savvy Verse & Wit. He was kind enough to answer some questions about his poetry and writing inspiration. If you’ve missed my review of his latest book, City Above the Sea, click on the title. Without further ado, here’s my interview with Stephen:

1. In your biography, it states that you have written essays, novels, plays, and poetry. Has any particular genre presented a challenge for you? How so?

All genres have presented a challenge for me at various times. Right now I am trying to write a sequel to my epic poem “Murdoch McLoon And His Windmill Boat” (also published in 2008) and have gotten bogged down in the storyline or plot of the new project. Such is the challenge to the poet who gets inspired to attempt to write narrative poetry. You don’t just worry about how you are going to say what it is you want to say at the moment. You worry about the sequence of events or plot of the piece, and you worry about the characters in the piece, their lives and motives.

2. Your poetry is varied from narrative to free verse and rhyming poetry. How challenging is it to write each of these forms? Do you go through spurts of writing one form or another?

Yes, I do. I am not inspired to write rhyming poetry at the moment, but that could change in the blinking of an eye. When I was writing rhyming poetry before, I was also into writing music using one of music composition software packages. Rhyming and music are strongly linked in my mind. I am debating with myself if I want to go through the effort of getting back into music and all that that entails. Recently I sang as part of a choir in a concert, and I must admit that that got me thinking about music again and how much I enjoy it.

3. What inspires you to write poems, and how long does it take to complete one poem to your satisfaction? How many revisions does it take?

I am driven by two very strong motives. One is to understand the human condition, which is to say where I stand in the continuum of discovery that should be basic to the way we live our lives and to share that understanding with others. I believe that if I am successful at sharing what I have discovered with others, we all gain in wisdom. My second motive—and I admit that the two motives are linked—is altruistic in nature. I am committed to doing good. I want to make the world a better place. This effort begins in the psyche. If we are clear headed, we have a chance to act in such a way to make the world a better place.

I have very high expectations for poetry and art including music and literature in general. Poetry at its best helps us attain clarity—both the writing and the reading. I would say that all the arts to some extent give us this capability.

Some poems are written very quickly, and I don’t do much revising. Other poems end up being long-term commitments. I’m coming back to them periodically and making changes here and there—even if it is just a case of changing one word.

4. Do you have any obsessions you would like to share?

I have many obsessions, but the one closest to my creative work is my obsession with perfection. I am a perfectionist to a fault, and I often give myself no peace because of it. Of late, I have learned to put my current work aside with the expectation of coming back to it later when I am starting to experience diminishing returns. Another issue I have been wrestling with throughout my life is fear of rejection. Of late I’ve gotten more relaxed about the problem of rejection. Earlier it was a major impediment for me and helps explain why so much of my work has been so slow to see the light of day, that is, publication.

5. Please describe your writing space and how it differs from your ideal writing space.

I compose on computer, but I also carry a pocket-size notebook. My poems often begin as images or ideas jotted down in the notebook, but they are always completed on computer. I believe that next to the achievement of writing itself the computer—and here I am referring to the specific achievement of word processing—is a reality that even surpasses the printing press. The concept of the Internet must also be understood as part and parcel of this phenomenon.

Given what I just said, you would expect to find a lot of computers in my house, and you would, but only two of the four are truly functional anymore. I am fortunate that we have a fairly roomy house in the country, and I can use a large part of the lower level for a work space. If I do get involved with music again, I’ll compose in this space as well.

I feel very fortunate to have so much space. Previously I lived in a small one-bedroom apartment in a high rise condominium in Arlington, Va. We had an impressive view from our balcony including some of downtown Washington DC, but what we didn’t have was much living space. Before that, we lived in a townhouse in Fairfax, and it was there that I composed the music for my rhyming poems.

6. Music seems to play a role in your poetry, either as an inspiration or accompaniment. What forms of music do you find most inspirational and could you name 5 favorite songs?

I love music, and my tastes are wide ranging. Recently I became a subscriber to the Sirius satellite music system. I thought that Sirius might bring me back to the classical genres, but instead I find that I’m spending far more time with their more pop-music channels, such as their 1940s channel than I would have ever guessed.

The great achievement of the music of the 1940s is that it is far more open ended, that is, less constricted, than the music of other, especially later eras. In the course of a 10 to 15 minute set one can hear a ballad by a great crooner like Bing Crosby or Fran Sinatra accompanied by a symphonic orchestra, then an energetic jazz arrangement of a Broadway show piece, perhaps played by Louie Armstrong or Duke Ellington or Count Bassie and friends, followed by a big band rendition from the likes of Glenn Miller or Artie Shaw or the Dorseys, followed by a funny, even silly presentation by something like the Spike Jones Orchestra. What variety! We have nothing like that anymore.

As for naming my five favorite songs, I couldn’t possibly do it. I’ve been immersed in far too many styles of music and loved too many compositions in each to do that.

7. How would you describe the role of poetry today compared to the Beat Generation of poets, who seem to have influenced your own writing? Do you believe the Beat Poets were more influential than the poets of today?

Yes, I do believe that the Beat poets were more influential than the poets of today, but I need to add that I do see a resurgence. Poetry comes and goes in popularity. and I do think that it is coming back. How much poetry comes back will be the result of the actions of two different groups—the writers of poetry and the readers of poetry. I hope I can be forgiven for sounding more than a little self serving, but I do think that the fact that writers of poetry are willing to tackle long forms like narrative poetry is one very healthy sign. Now will the readers of poetry including those who attend poetry performances be willing to support the longer forms? We will see.

I was recently able to purchase Seamus Heaney’s “Beowulf” at a local Walden Books store in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. I take that as a very good omen. Wow, you mean you can tell stories in poetry? Yes, you can! And those stories can be full of action, full adventure, full of emotion? Yes, they can! In fact, our oldest stories including the stories of the Bible and the epic sagas are poetic, that is, metrical in nature, and full of colorful imagery. Yes, yes, yes, poetry is coming back!

Now having said what I said, I need to quickly add that I still write short, lyrical, philosophical poems. I am not totally preoccupied with story telling through poetry. I still write the short stuff too.


8. Please describe your writing routine (i.e. do you get up early or are you a late night writer? Do you sit in your pjs or scribble on buses and in lines at the grocery store?)

I have done all of the above including scribbling on buses. Lately I have been able to use the key hours of the day, which for me are the hours after breakfast and before lunch, for writing. What a welcome change! Previously I had to sandwich my writing into days taken up with the demands of full-time jobs.

9. Many writers will use how-to manuals or writers’ workshops to garner experience. What have some of your writing experiences been like, and did you use these tools to help you? Were they effective? If so, which tools were most effective for you?

I have been a member of one writers group in my life. This was during my early years of residency in the Washington area, where I moved in 1978. Earlier, in college, I took one course with a favorite professor that provided an opportunity to share my writing with others. Both experiences were useful, but they could have been far more useful had I not been so sensitive about criticism and so sensitive about the idea of exposing my inner thoughts to others. I was terribly thin skinned during these periods of my life, and this hypersensitivity was to make me far less effective in getting my work out in the world than I should have been.

I would recommend both approaches—courses and writers groups–to people trying to get started as writers and trying to move their lives along as writers. If you have problems with hypersensitivity to criticism, as I did, you need to be working on that as a separate impediment to success. So what if so-and-so thinks something in a current work of yours could have been done better. Maybe so-and-so is right. Give some thought to the criticism and how you might alter your work accordingly.

If you think so-and-so’s problem is that he is just not in sync with your philosophy of how poetry should be written, then you’ve got to learn to walk away from his criticism. Summon up the courage in yourself to stick with your convictions—with your vision–and move on. To your own self be true.

10. What are your current writing projects or do you have any performances scheduled?

I am filled with ideas for future projects. For example, as I alluded earlier, I have begun work on a sequel to “Murdoch McLoon And His Windmill Boat,” my epic or mock epic story poem. The sequel also involves the use of technology to solve a problem facing us. Now I need a surge of energy to move the project forward. I also want to continue to write short poems, poems of self discovery. And I might even try fiction again. Never give up! Never quit! That is what I keep reminding myself.

I try to read my work as often as possible at the once-a-month Spoken Word gathering in Floyd, Virginia. Other opportunities for readings have been brought to my attention, and I hope to be able to participate in some of these events as well as soon as possible.

Thanks again, Stephen, for answering my questions. City Above the Sea is one volume of poetry that should be on everyone’s shelves.

Poet Eric Pankey Interview

I’ve been working on a interview project with Deborah at 32 Poems magazine, and she kindly allowed me to interview past contributors to the magazine. We will be posting the interviews throughout the coming months, and our second interview posted on Deborah’s Poetry Blog of 32 Poems on Feb. 5.

I’m going to provide you with a snippet from the interview, but if you want to read the entire interview, I’ll provide you a link for that as well.

For now, let me introduce to you 32 Poems contributor, Eric Pankey:

1. Not only are you a contributor to 32 Poems, you also have a published book, Cenotaph, and in an interview with Bold Type you mentioned you once wanted to be a visual artist. Would you ever consider melding the two forms–visual art and poetry? Also as a poet and professor, what “hat” do you find most difficult to wear and why?

I try to keep the poetry and visual arts separate. Each allows me a different kind of articulation, a different kind of vision.

This last year I had the good fortune to have visual artwork in several juried shows across the country. With the visual work I am just now, at almost fifty, moving out of the amateur realm and trying my hand at the professional realm. I am feeling the same thrill and excitement I felt half my life ago when my first book was accepted for publication.

I tend to be a social creature and the writing of poems happens most often in solitude. The work of teaching gives me community and conversation and that stimulation often leads me to long once again for the solitude of writing. And then the cycle repeats.

2. Poetry is often considered elitist or inaccessible by mainstream readers. Do poets have an obligation to dispel that myth and how do you think it could be accomplished?

I am not sure what a “mainstream reader” is.

I do not, for instance, read contemporary plays and really only read novels in the summer, but that is not because I find them elitist or inaccessible. I find it more pleasurable to read poetry, art history, and general nonfiction.

I think people read what they find pleasurable. Pleasure is one of the purposes of poetry.
Some people like the surface of the poetry they read to be complex, dense, and even hermetic. Some like a surface that is transparent, clear, uncluttered. Some like poetry that is laugh-out-loud funny. Some people like deeply brooding poetry. I think the variety of American poetry is great and that there is poetry out there for all sorts of tastes.

3. How do you stay fit and healthy as a writer?

Sometimes my dog will take me for a walk, but mostly I am out of shape.

About the Poet:

Eric Pankey was born on February 25, 1959 in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of James A. and Frances Pankey both of whom were accountants. In 1985 he married Jennifer Atkinson a writer whose papers are also in Special Collections. Pankey obtained degrees from the University of Missouri at Columbia, B.S., 1981 and the University of Iowa, M.F.A., 1983. He taught at Washington University from 1987 to 1996 and is now Professor of English at George Mason University in Washington, D.C. He was awarded the Walt Whitman Award from the Academy of American Poets in 1984 for his collection, For the New Year. Since then he has written other books including his collections, Heartwood: Poems (1988), The Late Romances: Poems (1997), Apocrypha: Poems (1991) and Cenotaph (2000). His work has been supported by fellowships from The Ingram Merrill Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts, and The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial.

Want to find out what Eric’s writing space looks like? What music he listens to while he writes? Find out what he’s working on now, and much more. Check out the rest of my interview with Eric here. Please feel free to comment on the 32 Poems blog and Savvy Verse & Wit.

Also, check out this interview with Eric on How a Poem Happens.

City Above the Sea and Other Poems by Stephen Alan Saft

City Above the Sea and Other Poems by Stephen Alan Saft is the poet’s third book of poems, which I received through Bostick Communications. Saft’s preface will provide readers with insight into his background and possible influences. He discusses the different types of poems found in the volume. Some of the poems were previously performed with live music.

The title poem, “City Above the Sea,” paints a vivid picture of this future-like city with glass towers and green vines hanging. The A-A-B-B rhyme scheme of the poem is not as distracting as other rhyming poems are because the images are so vivid and transport the reader into this technologically efficient world. The poem touts the benefits of technology in creating electric cars and other less polluting tools and devices, but in stanza 10 the mood changes. In a way, the poem preaches to the reader about the need of society to save humanity.

“Population grows. Suburbs intrude on the land of the cow/Where once the farmer tilled with tractor and plow/How will we feed ourselves when out numbers double?/Meanwhile the sea rises putting other land in trouble//” (Page 15, Stanza 11)

Saft’s romantic nature comes to light in “The Cucumber Plant to the Sun,” as he weaves images of a growing plant reaching for the sun begging to be that same sun’s only love. This poem will make readers smile as they see the plant growing in the nurturing light and unfurling its tendrils.

Saft’s use of language in “Tomatoes” reminds me of so many of my favorite, yet poignant, poems in Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s book A Coney Island of the Mind. There is a great deal of alliteration in this poem, but there is much more going on in it. It has a primal nature that readers must discover.

Whether the verse is free or rhyming, Saft skillfully paints a vivid picture or narrative through which he cracks open the underbelly of reality and the beauty inherent in that reality. Readers will enjoy his fresh images and innovative language.

Also Reviewed By:
Puss Reboots
Never Without a Book
Considering All Things Literary

About the Poet:

Stephen Alan Saft, also known as S.A. Saft, is a writer of essays, novels, plays and poetry. As a poet, Saft has written over a hundred poems, many of which he has presented in public readings. Saft’s poetry is a combination of blank verse, free verse and rhyming pieces, some of which were written to be performed with music. Saft has given poetry readings in Virginia, Maine, Vermont, California, Texas, New Jersey, New York, and Washington DC, in some cases to the accompaniment of a jazz band.

Poet Andrea Hollander Budy Interview

I’ve been working on a interview project with Deborah at 32 Poems magazine, and she kindly allowed me to interview past contributors to the magazine. We will be posting the interviews throughout the coming months, and our first interview posted on Deborah’s Poetry Blog of 32 Poems on Jan. 21.

I’m going to provide you with a snippet from the interview, but if you want to read the entire interview, I’ll provide you a link for that as well.

For now, let me introduce to you 32 Poems contributor, Andrea Hollander Budy:

1. Not only are you a contributor to 32 Poems, but you also are a teacher and attend quite a number of conferences. What “hat” would you consider the most challenging to wear and why?

Yes, not only do I write, but guide others both as the Writer-in-Residence at Lyon College and, during the summers, at a variety of writers’ conferences. I also work one-on-one as a long-distance writing tutor (via the mail and telephone). But at all times I wear the same “hat,” because even when I teach others, I do so as a colleague who has enough experience with the craft of creating poems that I can provide insight into the process and help my students or tutees grow stronger as writers and revisers of their own work. Creating one’s own poems is indeed a continual challenge. But whether I am teaching others about this challenge or facing my own blank page, the important point is to enable myself and others to do the best work through continual devotion to doing the work in the first place.

2. Do you have any obsessions that you would like to share?

It’s the writing itself that reveals my deeper obsessions to me. If I am obsessed with anything, it’s with the process of writing itself, with the joy of making discoveries through writing, and with the pleasures of learning through reading the work of others, as well.

3. I noticed that much of your poetry has been categorized as conversational in tone. Do you believe that to be an accurate depiction. Why or why not? Has this always been the style you’ve used?

I have always tried to write as clearly as possible in language that is free of decoration. A poem is already by its nature a dense enterprise — relatively few words attempt to engage readers and provide a compelling experience — and while I don’t wish to write simplistic poems, I do want readers to easily enter a poem and to discover there something valuable not only the first time they read or hear it, but for them to want to enter the poem again and again and to be ushered more deeply into it each time.

About the Poet:

Born in Berlin, Germany, of American parents, raised in Colorado, Texas, New York, and New Jersey, and educated at Boston University and the University of Colorado, Andrea Hollander Budy is the author of three full-length poetry collections: Woman in the Painting, The Other Life, and House Without a Dreamer, which won the Nicholas Roerich Poetry Prize. Other honors include the D. H. Lawrence Fellowship, a Pushcart Prize for prose memoir, the Runes Poetry Award, two poetry fellowships the National Endowment for the Arts, and two from the Arkansas Arts Council. Most recently Budy received the 2008 Subiaco Award for Literary Merit for Excellence in the Writing and Teaching of Poetry.

Want to find out what Andrea’s writing space looks like? What music she listens to while she writes? How she stays fit? and much more? Check out the rest of my interview with Andrea here.

Poet/Writer Meme–Vital Stats

Deborah at 32 Poems posted this meme a bit ago, and I thought it would be fund to adapt to the writers and book reviewers who read my site.

Simply copy the questions and answer them on your blog. I won’t tag anyone, so it’s up to you if you want to do it in the comments or in your own post.

Age when I decided I wanted to be a writer/poet/book reviewer: 6

Age when I wrote my first short story/review/poem: 10

Age when I first got my hands on a good word processor: 16

Age when I first submitted a short story/poem/review to a magazine: 15

Rejections prior to first short story/poem/review sale: Hasn’t happened yet, unless you count review copies as payment.

Age when I sold my first short story/poem/review: See above.

Approximate number of short stories/poems/reviews sold: 1

Year I first published a book: Hasn’t happened yet

Books published or delivered and in the pipeline: None

Number of titles in print: None

Age now: Not telling.

***Don’t forget my giveaway for an inscribed copy of Matrimony by Joshua Henkin. Deadline is Dec. 21 and the contest is international.**

***Check out the winner of the Green Beauty Guide and an announcement about First Book.***

The Sighing of the Winter Trees by Laura Grossman

Laura Grossman’s The Sighing of the Winter Trees is a collection of poems I received from Dorothy Thompson at Pump Up Your Book Promotion. Following my review, you will have a chance to see what the poet had to say in an interview and a chance to win one copy of her book.

Grossman uses familiar images to tackle loss, love, and many of the emotions we feel. Her sparse language and short poems attempt to evoke emotion from the reader without relying upon complex lines, concepts, or too many literary devices.

Many of her poems have a conversational tone, as if she is speaking directly to the reader. This tone can generate a warmth in the reader, like it does in her poem, “Waiting Warmly Beside Orange Flowers,” or it can evoke sadness, like that found in “Wait, Wait I’ll Be Back.”

Some of these poems tell stories, but those stories leave the reader hanging, waiting for a resolution. Others simply confuse the reader, like “Wooden Ship.” Although I was not overly impressed by this volume, it does have a lot to offer the “everyman” and parents may find some poems in this volume to help introduce their children to poetry. Readers looking for poems that are less daunting than those read during high school or college will discover verses in this volume that will tap their hidden love of poetry.

My Interview With Laura Grossman:


When did you realize you wanted to be a poet? Was there a particular event that started you writing poetry?

I realized I wanted to be a poet when I was a child and I loved describing the winter days in a form of a haiku. The particular event that started me in writing poetry was after my father died and the professor at college had me read a stanza that captured the way I felt about the death of my dad. Suddenly there was beauty and meaning in the way I felt about my late dad.

Is The Sighing of the Winter Trees your first published book of poetry? Could you describe your path to publication?

The Sighing of the Winter Trees is my first published book of poetry. I took books out on how to achieve my goal of getting published and that helped my path to publication.

Do you have a set routine or do you write when the mood or inspiration hits?

I usually write when the mood or inspiration hits.

What are your favorite poetic forms? And are those forms that you find yourself using the most?

My favorite forms of poetry are haiku and rhythmic and I use those forms quite often.

As a poet can you describe your role in the current literary world and what you see your poetry accomplishing for yourself, readers, and other poets?

I describe my role as a poet to bear meaning and shed light to others about the world in which we live. I also use my writing skills as a way of making lemonade out of lemons until the sun come out again into my life and my readers’ lives as well.

How do you view the current state of poetry in terms of public recognition?

There should be more public recognition of poetry for poetry can heal and sooth us and leave a positive impact on our lives.

Could you describe your favorite writing space?

My favorite writing space is by my fall mums by the window in early morning hours.

Do you have any favorite poets, and if so, why?

Emily Dickinson is my favorite poet. Her words touch my heart with wonder.

What are you currently reading and do you have any particular book recommendations?

I am currently reading The Flowering by Agnes Sligh Turnbull and would greatly recommend this book to others.

****

I want to thank Dorothy Thompson for sending me Laura Grossman’s book and for allowing me to interview her for this post. I also want to thank Laura for taking time out of her schedule to answer my questions.

For the inside scoop on how Laura Grossman got her volume published, check out this article at Book Publishing Secrets of Authors.

About the Author:

Laura Grossman graduated from Lehman College with a degree in English literature and won several awards from poetry contests. She has attended poetry readings and has enjoyed positive feedback on her work.

And now, for the contest; This is open to international entrants as always.

1. Leave a comment on this post with an email or a blogger profile that works for one entry.

2. Put this contest in your sidebar or in a blog post for a second entry and leave me a link to it on this post.

Deadline is Nov. 17. I will draw the winner through Randomizer.org.

Also Reviewed By:
Cafe of Dreams

Contest Reminders:

Want to win a copy of Off the Menu by Christine Son, go here; Deadline is Nov. 18

Win a copy of Karen White’s The House on Tradd Street here; Deadline is Nov.14

Interview with Poet Nikki Giovanni

Welcome Nikki Giovanni, a poet and author, to Savvy Verse & Wit. She was gracious enough to take time out of her busy touring schedule for Hip Hop Speaks to Children to answer some questions about her writing process, the book, and poetry. Thanks to Sourcebooks for sending Hip Hop Speaks to Children to me for review, which you can read here.

1. What prompted you to become involved with the Hip Hop Speaks to Children? And do you think poetry is important for children and adults and why?

I became interested a long, long time ago because my son listened to hip hop. I began even then to try to learn where this “new sound” was coming from since I well know everything old is new again, as the expression goes.

2. Poetry and music seem very akin to one another; do you feel that other genres can apply the rhythm of Hip Hop and other styles to generate passion among children, such as a passion for reading?

I think there is an ebb and flow to everything; there is a rhythm to all speech whether spoken or written. The most important sound is always silence. It is the pauses that make up the meaning. I wanted to give some sense of that rhythm to young people as well as a bit of history.

3. Do you believe that writing is an equalizer that can help humanity become more tolerant and collaborative?

Writing is an equalizer only in so far as what is being written is truthful. Written lies promote hatred and we’ve seen a lot of that lately. Writing is only a tool of the truth, and we who believe in a more tolerant world need to keep putting that truth out.

4. Do you see spoken word, performance poetry, or written poetry as more powerful or powerful in different ways and why?

I think all art has its moments and reasons. I don’t see any special reason to rank effectiveness since we all cross over and learn from each genre. (Well said!)

5. Do you have a set writing routine? Do you get up early and start writing or do you write when the mood hits?

I am a early morning or late night writer. I am more comfortable when I know I will not be disturbed. I must say that mood has nothing to do with professionalism. All writers study all the time; learning something all the time; looking at things differently all the time. That’s what is important.

6. Can you describe your writing space?

I write in essentially a tight space. It is a small room with lots of books, a CD player, some photos, and my computer. I have a phone in here but it seldom rings. Also my fax and xerox machine. I sit on a rocker.

7.
Do you have any advice for writers/poets just starting out?

The only advice I have is you, the young writer, should always be reading something. A book, a magazine, a newspaper, anything. A writer who is not reading isn’t doing her homework.

Thanks again to Nikki Giovanni for sharing her unique perspective with us.

Also, here are some reminders about the latest Savvy Verse & Wit Contests:
(Deadlines are Nov. 5)

1. Win a copy of Black Flies by Shannon Burke

2. Win a copy of Life After Genius by M. Ann Jacoby

3. Win a copy of Lydia Bennet’s Story by Jane Odiwe

Sex at Noon Taxes by Sally Van Doren

Sex at Noon Taxes by Sally Van Doren arrived in my mailbox from the American Academy of Poets. Van Doren’s volume won the Walt Whitman Award from the Academy. I read the title and spent a great deal of time pondering it before I opened the book. Is the sex at noon taxing or is it taxed at noon? There is a play on words here.

The book is broken down into four parts.

Sex at Noon Taxes is the first poem in the book, and the inscription mentions a painting by Ed Ruscha (at right). Here are some of my favorite lines from Van Doren’s poem: “avalanche turns snowfall into/uncorraled horseshoes.//”

The images in Van Doren’s poems leave the reader thinking, not because they are difficult to understand, but because they expel a number of meanings in a minimalist fashion.

As a writer, I’m always fascinated with how writers take on the craft in their work whether it’s punctuation or poems themselves. Some of my favorites from this volume include “Preposition,” “Conjunction,” and “Pronoun/Punctuation.” I’ll leave those a mystery, but I will share with you some of my favorite lines from “Gephyrophobia.” “If there is a bridge,/I cannot see it,/but I know I want/to cross it, to walk/” As you can see from the language, it is simple, tells a story, and holds an undercurrent of something deeper.

A lot of these poems display playful language and at times it is musical. Molly Peacock says that Van Doren’s poems’ “vocabulary fizzles off the page.”

About the poet:

Sally Van Doren was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. She is a graduate of Phillips Academy and Princeton University and received an M.F.A. from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Her poems have appeared in many journals, among them: Barrow Street, Boulevard, Cincinnati Review, Colorado Review, LIT, Margie, Parthenon West Review, Poetry Daily, Pool, River Styx and Southwest Review. She was a semi-finalist in the 2006 “Discovery”/The Nation Poetry Contest. Her poem, “The Sense Series,” was the text for a multimedia performance at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis.

Van Doren has taught creative writing in the St. Louis Public Schools and curates the Sunday Poetry Workshops for the St. Louis Poetry Center. She divides her time between St. Louis and Cornwall, Connecticut.

***Reminder: You can win a copy of Wingbeat by Marilyn Meredith, go here. Deadline is Oct. 22