Marilyn McCabe’s latest book of poems, Glass Factory, was published by The Word
Works in Spring 2016. Her poem “On Hearing the Call to Prayer Over the
Marcellus Shale on Easter Morning” was awarded A Room of Her Own Foundation’s
Orlando Prize. Her book of poetry Perpetual Motion was published by The Word Works in 2012 as the winner of the Hilary
Tham Capitol Collection contest. A grant from the New York State Council on the
Arts resulted in videopoem "At Freeman's Farm," which was published
on The Continental Review and Motion Poems. She blogs about writing
and reading at marilynonaroll.wordpress.com.
1 - How did your first book or chapbook
change your life? How does your most recent work compare to your previous? How
does it feel different?
My first
full length book of poems came about because I won a contest. Yes, a small,
very very small contest...but still. It meant that someone who did not know me
or my work was drawn to it enough to say "this stayed with me." I
feel a bit pathetic to need that external validation, but there it is. I had my
Sally Field "you like me" moment and could, at least momentarily,
move forward.
My work
feels different now because I am different, in all kinds of ways. I hope I'm
writing different work -- more ambitious, more imaginative, more mature both
emotionally and craft-ly. Current work is similar to the older work in its
groundedness in the natural world, inclusion of subtle humor here and there,
and my ongoing love affair with language. I just hope I'm reaching farther.
2 - How did you come to poetry first, as
opposed to, say, fiction or non-fiction?
I came to
fiction first, actually, but was lousy at plot. Tried essay but never really
figured out what I was trying to do. Came to poetry last, not as a last resort,
but as something else to try my hand at. My hand is still moving.
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?
I write quickly,
edit along the way, and throw a shitload of poem attempts away.
4 - Where does a poem or work of fiction
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?
Any time
I've tried to work in "project" format, I've written endless crap. I
just miswrote "carp" but it amounts to the same thing. So I write a
poem at a time, then periodically look up to see if I've got something that
looks manuscripty. Fish by fish, as it were.
5 - Are public readings part of or
counter to your creative process? Are you the sort of writer who enjoys doing
readings?
I love doing
readings. I love practicing for readings. I love organizing my poems for a kind
of arc in a reading. It's performance, and I'm a performer.
I recorded
myself reading some poems and put them on my blogsite, because so many people
have said they "get" my poems better when they hear me read them.
Whatever that means.
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?
I'm always
approaching the consideration of what it means to be a human living on this
planet amid other infuriating humans, as well as flora and fauna, rock and sea.
I'm always approaching the consideration of the question "what the
hell?" in all its forms.
7 – What do you see the current role of
the writer being in larger culture? Does s/he even have one? What do you think
the role of the writer should be?
Whistling in
the dark.
8 - Do you find the process of working
with an outside editor difficult or essential (or both)?
I have been
lucky to have worked so far in my two books with only one, gentle editor, with
whom I've enjoyed some good wrangles over commas and dashes.
9 - What is the best piece of advice
you've heard (not necessarily given to you directly)?
Allow
yourself to make crap. Or carp.
10 - How easy has it been for you to
move between genres (poetry to fiction to critical prose)? What do you see as
the appeal?
It's been
terribly hard to move between genres, as I think each requires something
different of me. I'm now doing multimedia work, which has its own set of
appeals, challenges, pitfalls. I'm suspicious of image and sound as it works
with text, but can't seem to not mess around with it.
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?
Ugh, I hate
that question because it throws me into paroxysms of guilt over my laziness. A
typical day begins with some exercise and coffee. I might write in my journal,
which is where all my poetry starts. Or I might stare out the window. After
that, chaos. Actually I have one ritual act I've been doing every week for a
few years -- each Monday I post on my blog a brief meditation on writing or
reading. That has given me deep pleasure. marilynonaroll.wordpress.com
12 - When your writing gets stalled,
where do you turn or return for (for lack of a better word) inspiration?
I am lucky
enough to live not very far from MASSMoCA, the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. I go there a few times a year to get my mind blown. I also
read widely in nonfiction -- science, essay, art history, biography. Reading
poetry inspires me often too. Nothing makes me happier when
mid-someone-else's-poem, I have to get up and write something in my journal
because I was inspired by something that poet was up to.
13 - What fragrance reminds you of home?
Oh, home.
Well, that's a project. I'm not sure what home means. It's an ongoing question
in my mind. I grew up in rental apartments, never owned my own house, now live
in a house my husband bought with his first wife. So home for me through my
life has been more something I carry around with me rather than one place. I
like the question though, but it's a bit too romantic for my reality. Aroma is
the quickest route to memory, but memory...well, that's a funny place.
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?
As I
mentioned, contemporary art, science. I also love modern dance, and can come
away from a performance feeling expanded in my imagination.
15 - What other writers or writings are
important for your work, or simply your life outside of your work?
Oh, I'm a
reading whore. I love the one I'm with, unless I've gotten up and walked away.
16 - What
would you like to do that you haven't yet done?
I want to
score a poem for choral presentation.
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 wanted to
be a research scientist of some sort. Then I took Bio 101 in college. Things
went downhill from there. I also wanted to be a detective. I think poetry
actually makes use of that research/snoop impulse. I have done many things in
addition to being a writer and continue to do so. Poetry don't pay the rent.
18 - What made you write, as opposed to
doing something else?
I've always
been a reader, and have always loved words. So one day, seeking some way to
maintain my sanity, I thought, well...see above my attachment to the phrase
"what the hell."
19 - What was the last great book you
read? What was the last great film?
I'm reading
Ocean Vuong's book Night Sky with Exit Wounds right now, and it's fabulous. See
above re: loving the one I'm with.
I just
rererewatched Kenneth Branagh's Henry V. I freaking love that movie.
20 - What are you currently working on?
I'm working
on keeping panic and despair at bay, living in the present, and staying in a
creative headspace for longer than two seconds at a time.
No comments:
Post a Comment