Emma McKenna is a feminist, bi, disabled poet living in
the Waterloo Region with her husband and two Shih Tzus. She is the author of Gold
Star (2026) and Chenille or Silk (2019).
1 - How did your first book change your life?
How does your most recent work compare to your previous? How does it feel
different?
My first book, Chenille or Silk, gave me confidence and it also
calmed me down and humbled me. The fact that nothing really happened afterwards
helped me understand that publication doesn’t magically change your life. By
the time I wrote my second book, Gold Star, I had gained a stronger
sense of my authorial voice. I was more practiced at making decisions on form,
content, and tone, and possessed a better sense of control over the verse.
2 - How did you come to poetry first, as
opposed to, say, fiction or non-fiction?
I wrote my first poem when I was thirteen, in a very self-aware way that
I was writing a poem to express something private in a way that could also be
shared. I liked the use of metaphor, of obscuring some things while revealing
others. I have also written non-fiction and fiction, (mainly unpublished), but
poetry does feel like my truest voice. I like the dance between offering
something while also holding back. I wrote a novel between 2023-2025 and it was
a great exercise in structure, plot, and character development. It taught me a
lot about word economy and stakes, and the need to believe in your writing.
3 - How long does it take to start any
particular writing project? Does your writing initially come quickly, or is it
a slow process? Do first drafts appear looking close to their final shape, or
does your work come out of copious notes?
My writing usually appears with a sense of urgency, a problem or an image,
that I want to work through and imbue with other meaning. I will think about a
poem before I start writing, playing with different beginnings in my mind. I
have come to revise more intensely, and I think that has strengthened my
poetry. With prose, revision feels so clearly necessary, and much less
emotional. It’s more obvious when something isn’t working or feels jarring.
Poetry is trickier, because there is less language to hide behind. The final
form really needs to stand on its own.
4 - Where does a poem usually begin for you?
Are you an author of short pieces that end up combining into a larger project,
or are you working on a "book" from the very beginning?
Poems usually begin from a feeling of something that I need to expel or
a story I want to tell. My books have taken the form of collected poems, tied
together thematically. Gold Star began as a very different book, with a
different overarching theme, but through many rounds of revisions the core
pieces came through, and I rewrote in alignment with them. I do think I am a
“book” poet in that I like the feeling of a collection, of putting things
together over a longer narrative. I would like to write a chapbook on a single
theme, that sounds like something fun to do next year.
5 - Are public readings part of or counter to
your creative process? Are you the sort of writer who enjoys doing readings?
It is quite special to get to read publicly. I value that element of the
craft, and I am grateful to have opportunities to do so. I am so moved by
having an audience willing to engage with my voice, and my writing, and being
able to perform hits at a different register than writing. I also love reading
aloud; it is a delight to get pronounce the carefully chosen words and to say
them with intention.
I want to add that I don’t think reading publicly should be a
requirement for anyone, as people have varying levels of comfort and access
needs. It is important to meet writers where they are at and provide
opportunities for them to engage with community that aren’t only performing in
a public space. I am grateful there are virtual options, both as a writer, to
be able to connect with folks who can’t be there in person, and as a reader, as
it allows for a different set of possibilities to take place. Mentorship and
other group or one-on-one writerly relations are also amazing ways that writers
can connect with readers without having to perform.
6 - Do you have any theoretical concerns
behind your writing? What kinds of questions are you trying to answer with your
work? What do you even think the current questions are?
My work is always engaging with power. My writing grapples with things
like choice, consent, domination, and coercion, on micro and macro levels. I
write about gender, sexuality, class, trauma, violence, and disability.
7 – What do you see the current role of the
writer being in larger culture? Do they even have one? What do you think the
role of the writer should be?
There are so many kinds of writers, I can’t ascribe a role to anyone
else. Some people fit well into the role of public intellectual, others are
fierce social critics, forest recluses, bog queens, etc. My hope is that the
industry can allow writers to be the kinds of writer that fits them best.
8 - Do you find the process of working with an
outside editor difficult or essential (or both)?
I love to work with editors. I also love to edit for other people and
moonlight at this. Having the opportunity to work with an editor is incredible.
But you need to have a sense of who you are, and your voice, unless you are
just looking for a ghostwriter. A good relationship with an editor will involve
mutual respect; don’t work with someone you don’t admire and respect. I was
incredibly fortunate to work with Sandra Ridley on Gold Star, and she
brought a perspective to my work I couldn’t see myself. What a gift that was,
and I will forever be grateful for that time spent together on this collection.
9 - What is the best piece of advice you've
heard (not necessarily given to you directly)?
Don’t chase fads.
10 - How easy has it been for you to move
between genres (poetry to critical prose)? What do you see as the appeal?
I like to write in all forms. I trained in academia for many years so I
have written a lot of academic, critical writing. I was a songwriter for over a
decade as well. My favorite thing about poetry is having a limited space to
carve out the meaning—I like that restriction. Fiction is a delight because
there are no citations required, it’s so fun to just make stuff up. And I am an
aspiring memoirist—one day—but the difficulty I have with non-fiction is how
much to share, where to begin the story, and where to end it. I admire
non-fiction writers who can so cleanly develop a narrative arc out of their
life and not divulge everything at once. I’m working on that, slowly.
11 - What kind of writing routine do you tend
to keep, or do you even have one? How does a typical day (for you) begin?
As a white-collar worker, I’m at my desk five days a week. I think this
helps make writing kind of second nature as I do some kind of writing every day
at work. I do not “write everyday” but rather I write in random pockets of
time.
12 - When your writing gets stalled, where do
you turn or return for (for lack of a better word) inspiration?
Reading, of course! I also like to look back at my journals and see what
I was intending to write, and that can help. And of course, I take two walks a
day with my pups, and walking is always meditative and good for thinking
through writing.
13 - What fragrance reminds you of home?
Lavender, or my dogs’ paws.
14 - David W. McFadden once said that books
come from books, but are there any other forms that influence your work,
whether nature, music, science or visual art?
I would say I’m most influenced by people and relationships.
15 - What other writers or writings are
important for your work, or simply your life outside of your work?
I read a lot and am always hungry for women’s stories and narratives. I
love memoir, poetry, fiction, whatever, especially if the writer has some
struggle to work through.
16 - What would you like to do that you
haven't yet done?
In terms of writing—write more poetry books, write a memoir, write
novels. Many things!
17 - If you could pick any other occupation to
attempt, what would it be? Or, alternately, what do you think you would have
ended up doing had you not been a writer?
I have wanted to be a writer since I was young. So, I feel proud that
I’ve stuck to that plan. I have a job in research administration, which is square
within my skill set. If I were to do something else that followed a passion, it
would have been something to do with fashion.
18 - What made you write, as opposed to doing
something else?
My great grandmother Hilda wrote poetry, and my grandmother Joan did as
well. I like to think that is part of why I became a writer. Writing has always
been intuitive to me, as essential as speaking. Writing is a life practice, and
it’s something I have prioritized. From very early on I was aware I needed
language to make sense of my experiences and the world around me.
19 - What was the last great book you read?
What was the last great film?
The last great book I read was the memoir Mother Mary Comes to Me,
by Arundhati Roy. The last great artistic film was The Zone of Interest.
But I also love mainstream media, and I really enjoyed The Housemaid.
20 - What are you currently working on?
I’m completely focused on promoting Gold Star and touring for the
next few months. When I have spare energy, I’m working on poetry. I have a new
book project—a literary novel—that is in its drafting stages, and I hope to write
more of it this summer.
12 or 20 (second series) questions;
