Interview with Poet Dayna Patterson
9/30/2014
9/30/2014
1. How does writing poetry allow you to nourish and express your spiritual nature as a human being?
May Swenson once said, “"It's not for me — religion. It seems like a redundancy for a poet" Writing a poem is a meditative process. It’s painstaking, tortuous, and sweet. The reach for perfection, for the perfect word and the perfect arrangement of words mirrors the individual’s path to self-actualization, to holiness. Poetry creates space for a writer to refine a thought to its purest form, and the writer is in turn refined.
2. How have other poets shaped your own creative process?
I favor poets that are accessible, such as Mary Oliver, Pattiann Rogers, Billy Collins, Ken Brewer, and Susan Elizabeth Howe. Like these poets, I aim to make my poetry readable for a wide audience. I understand the value of vertigo poetry, poetry that can leave readers feeling disoriented the way our modern world can be disorienting. But I lean heavily towards the simplicity of a Collins and his clean, unrhymed tercets. Or a Howe imaginatively trying on Charlotte Brontë’s dress. I’m also a bit of a Shakespeare fanatic. I’m currently working on a collection of poetry inspired by the mother figures in his plays.
3. What advice would you give to other aspiring poets on how to unlock their creativity and improve their poetry skills?
a) Read. Read. Read. Read all the poetry you can get your hands on. Try signing up for The Writer’s Almanac to get a new poem delivered to your inbox every day. Poetry Foundation’s website (www.poetryfoundation.org) is wonderful. (They also have a very nifty app where you shake your phone as if rolling dice and a random poem will pop up.)
b) Join a poetry workshop. Constructive criticism is your friend!
c) Ted Kooser’s The Poetry Home Repair Manual and Mary Oliver’s A Poetry Handbook are both excellent resources. Slim, digestible, full of examples. Great kickstarters.
d) Carve out time in your day to write. Ruthlessly defend it from incursions.
4. What is a favorite line of poetry and why?
“We are a speck on a speck on a speck on a speck.” Neil deGrasse Tyson
The astrophysicist might not describe his words as poetry, but the line has been rolling around in my mind ever since I heard it a few weeks ago. In just a handful of words (exactly five), he captures our cosmic address with an echoing quality that is haunting.
Click the links below to view Dayna Patterson's poetry in Issue 1:
Sharing the Shower with 2 Kids
Migraine
Migration
May Swenson once said, “"It's not for me — religion. It seems like a redundancy for a poet" Writing a poem is a meditative process. It’s painstaking, tortuous, and sweet. The reach for perfection, for the perfect word and the perfect arrangement of words mirrors the individual’s path to self-actualization, to holiness. Poetry creates space for a writer to refine a thought to its purest form, and the writer is in turn refined.
2. How have other poets shaped your own creative process?
I favor poets that are accessible, such as Mary Oliver, Pattiann Rogers, Billy Collins, Ken Brewer, and Susan Elizabeth Howe. Like these poets, I aim to make my poetry readable for a wide audience. I understand the value of vertigo poetry, poetry that can leave readers feeling disoriented the way our modern world can be disorienting. But I lean heavily towards the simplicity of a Collins and his clean, unrhymed tercets. Or a Howe imaginatively trying on Charlotte Brontë’s dress. I’m also a bit of a Shakespeare fanatic. I’m currently working on a collection of poetry inspired by the mother figures in his plays.
3. What advice would you give to other aspiring poets on how to unlock their creativity and improve their poetry skills?
a) Read. Read. Read. Read all the poetry you can get your hands on. Try signing up for The Writer’s Almanac to get a new poem delivered to your inbox every day. Poetry Foundation’s website (www.poetryfoundation.org) is wonderful. (They also have a very nifty app where you shake your phone as if rolling dice and a random poem will pop up.)
b) Join a poetry workshop. Constructive criticism is your friend!
c) Ted Kooser’s The Poetry Home Repair Manual and Mary Oliver’s A Poetry Handbook are both excellent resources. Slim, digestible, full of examples. Great kickstarters.
d) Carve out time in your day to write. Ruthlessly defend it from incursions.
4. What is a favorite line of poetry and why?
“We are a speck on a speck on a speck on a speck.” Neil deGrasse Tyson
The astrophysicist might not describe his words as poetry, but the line has been rolling around in my mind ever since I heard it a few weeks ago. In just a handful of words (exactly five), he captures our cosmic address with an echoing quality that is haunting.
Click the links below to view Dayna Patterson's poetry in Issue 1:
Sharing the Shower with 2 Kids
Migraine
Migration