Allison LaSorda’s writing has
appeared in Brick: A Literary Journal, Hazlitt, PRISM international, and The
Fiddlehead, among others. Her first book, Stray, was published by icehouse
poetry / Goose Lane Editions in 2017.
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?
Writing can be an isolating
experience, and one that is abstracted and interior, so it can be disorienting to
bring the product of that experience to others. Poems languish on my desktop
and rarely feel finished. I find it
tough to let go. I’m not sure about my life changing, but having my work
published in book form, on real, pulpy pages, makes me feel as though I have
completed something concrete.
2 - How did you come to poetry
first, as opposed to, say, fiction or non-fiction?
I don’t recall making the
decision. An impulse to tackle something small, to ask questions, or to play
with language was probably what first drew me to attempting poetry. Now,
though, writing poetry and fiction both feel necessary to me.
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?
When it comes, the writing comes
quickly. There tend to be large gaps between productive periods. First drafts
are very similar to the shape of final drafts, though of course they’re clumsy
and in need of chiselling.
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?
I tend to start small. Shorter
pieces accumulate, and maybe they echo each other in their tone or topic or
obsessions. It’d be interesting to start with a larger thematic project in
mind, but I expect it would be challenging for me.
5 - Are public readings part of
or counter to your creative process? Are you the sort of writer who enjoys
doing readings?
I feel neutral about public
readings. I’m grateful for any audience that gives poems a chance, but in
general, I prefer to watch rather than be watched. While reading I might have
the opportunity to notice the awkwardness of a phrase, or a repetition that
went unnoticed, so in that sense it is helpful to my editing process.
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 don’t consciously apply theory
to my writing. If I think about it, I venture to say I am trying to clarify
what is difficult to articulate, and to anatomize what a particular instinct or
choice or system is presenting as simple. I’m concerned with humour and
absurdity. I’m trying to ask why certain questions are important to me, and why
poetry is the way to open them up. What settles in my mind right now are
questions of memory, gender, logic, attachment / detachment, and more that I
probably haven’t identified quite yet.
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?
Man. I worry about being
idealistic. Writers can forge the potential for new ways of seeing, can look
inward and outward at the same time, and can be mindful of context,
uncertainty, and empathy. But there isn’t one way to be a writer any more than
there is one way to write.
8 - Do you find the process of
working with an outside editor difficult or essential (or both)?
I find it absolutely essential.
9 - What is the best piece of
advice you've heard (not necessarily given to you directly)?
I like this Jack London
quotation: Don’t loaf and invite inspiration; light out after it with a club.
10 - How easy has it been for
you to move between genres (poetry to fiction)? What do you see as the appeal?
It’s been natural in some ways
and tough in others. The appeal, for me, is to bring the energy of fiction and
poetry, of far-reaching and tinkering, and mix them into each other.
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?
I don’t have much of a routine.
On a free day, and a good writing day, I hustle out of the house in the morning
and write in a café until I get restless. Otherwise, I tend to write at night.
I feel that fatigue helps me escape being too cautious.
12 - When your writing gets
stalled, where do you turn or return for (for lack of a better word)
inspiration?
If I can’t write, I’ll edit. If
I can’t edit, I’ll read. Reading boosts my brain.
13 - What fragrance reminds you
of home?
Burning leaves.
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’m influenced by, or at least
preoccupied by, everything and everyone most of the time.
15 - What other writers or
writings are important for your work, or simply your life outside of your work?
In a sense each book I read is
important, whether it drives me up the wall or it gives me renewed energy. At
the moment, I’m lucky to read books-in-progress by my talented friends, and
otherwise I’m absorbing the work of whip-smart writers like Patricia Lockwood,
Danez Smith, Kevin Connolly, Karen Solie, and Ottessa Moshfegh.
16 - What would you like to do
that you haven't yet done?
Oh, that’s a list. At the top
are: Surf. Write a novel. Stick a handstand.
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’d choose to be a professional
mountain climber or a midwife. I think if I hadn’t pursued writing in a real
way I’d be a veterinary technician.
18 - What made you write, as
opposed to doing something else?
I think writing is, in practical
ways, a very low maintenance art form. I just need a computer. I love to read
and consume, but there was an urge to engage and participate. What made me
write was the feeling that writing is an end in itself.
19 - What was the last great
book you read? What was the last great film?
I’m late to the party, always.
Book: A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. Film: Hell or High Water.
20 - What are you currently
working on?
Stories. And what maybe could be a novella.
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