12 or 20 (second series) questions with Arlene Naganawa

Arlene Naganawa’s work appears in The Inflectionist Review, La Piccioletta Barca, Whale Road Review, Fatal Flaw, Thimble, Whale Road Review, Barnstorm, Belletrist, Crab Creek Review, Crab orchard review, Waxwing, Calyx, New Delta Review, Poetry on Buses, and in other publications.

Her chapbooks include Private Graveyard (Gribble Press), The Scarecrow Bride (Red Bird Chapbooks), The Ark and the Bear (Floating Bridge Press), and We Were Talking About When We Had Bodies (Ravenna Press). I Weave a Nest of Foil, her full-length debut, is new from Kelson Books.

Arlene has been the recipient of grants from the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture and Artist Trust and was awarded a creative residency at Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island, WA, and served as a juror for the 2024 poetry residency.

Arlene has been a Writer in the Schools for Seattle Arts and ectures, instructor at Hugo House, poetry mentor and site lead for the Pongo Poetry Project at Judge Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center, and poetry teacher at Echo Glen Children’s Center in Snoqualmie, Washington.

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 chapbook, Private Graveyard, was the winner of a contest. I was stunned that it was chosen and it encouraged me to keep writing. The work in that first chapbook is somewhat different from the writing in subsequent books. I was writing more personally then. My new work is often, but not always, fragmented, ekphrastic, and collage-like. I use a persona almost always now.

2 - How did you come to poetry first, as opposed to, say, fiction or non-fiction?

I’m not really sure. I have always read fiction–my English degree was much more focused on fiction than poetry. I didn’t start writing poetry until I graduated from college and then almost accidentally. I took a short workshop from a teacher in my high school English department, James Masao Mitsui. He was an excellent teacher, pointing out what was surprising, jarring, devastating, and beautiful in our lines and images. He was very encouraging and I had some work published right away, so I kept writing poems. My thinking is not very linear, so writing short poems without narrative lines seemed more natural than writing stories or novels.

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?

Writing takes me forever. Once in a while, I write a poem in one sitting, but I usually draft over and over, returning to a work many times, sometimes even over a period of years. I do like to write out a first draft quickly, even knowing that it is terrible, so I have something to revise. I love revising. I rarely take notes, but I think my work would be better if I did.

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?

My poems begin in various ways–with a single image, a line from another work, a prompt, a work of art, or something I’ve seen or experienced. I’ve been working with Marie Howe’s idea of taking notes of observations without using similes or metaphors or any kind of transformation–just record the figure or scene as it is without imposing any kind of interpretation. That leads to some interesting details for poems. I work best with concrete details. I find that using a “concept” for a body of work doesn’t turn out well for me. I enjoy poems that slide in from the corner of my subconscious without thinking about a theme or tying them to other poems.

5 - Are public readings part of or counter to your creative process? Are you the sort of writer who enjoys doing readings?

I don’t like reading in public. I read when it is the courteous thing to do. I believe in helping the presses and organizations we work for, but I don’t like being the center of attention. Most of my poems work better on the page than out loud. I enjoy attending readings very much.

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 really have theoretical concerns. If I had a wider audience, I would try to address humanitarian concerns more directly. It’s difficult to write about such topics in original ways in poetry. The current questions include: What can art do to create more humane conditions in the world? How can art encourage people to pressure governments and corporations to put the environment and people before profits? How can art encourage people to “live simply so that others may simply live”? How can art stop killing?

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?

Writers help shape behavior and attitudes. Historically, this has always been true. People’s attitudes are shaped by the mythologies, literature, and theatre they see and hear. Often, writers are the best critics of their times, opening the eyes of their readers to cruelty and injustice, both in fiction and nonfiction. Writers also affirm generosity and kindness, as well as provide a moral compass. Currently, social media has taken over the role of literature for a certain segment of the population, and many consumers of social media are influenced by, well, influencers. But the influence individual creators will be short-lived compared to that of great authors. No TikTok influencer can replace such writers as Toni Morrison, James Baldwin, Shakespeare, and many others. I doubt that the message of any individual influencers will last a hundred years, or even a decade. And many people still read. Readers look to authors for guidance and affirmation of humanity.

8 - Do you find the process of working with an outside editor difficult or essential (or both)?

My personal experience with editors has always been positive and enjoyable. I love seeing my work through their eyes, and I will usually revise if they suggest revision, even if I also liked my original words. Editors work very hard, and I appreciate them.

9 - What is the best piece of advice you've heard (not necessarily given to you directly)?

Don’t worry about rejection.

10 - What kind of writing routine do you tend to keep, or do you even have one? How does a typical day (for you) begin?

Unfortunately, I have no routine. I write in bursts. I don’t start the day by writing. I usually spend an hour cleaning house in the morning.

11 - When your writing gets stalled, where do you turn or return for (for lack of a better word) inspiration?

My writing groups and mentors share very creative prompts. Some of my best, and strangest, poems were written in response to prompts. These prompts vary and often avoid the  “write about a time when” prompts. My favorite prompts often utilize erasure or collaging from other sources, including YouTube transcripts or names of paint colors.

12 - What fragrance reminds you of home?

Clorox bleach and Vano starch. My mother cleaned and ironed better than anyone.

13 - 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 often influenced by visual art. Art museums are some of my favorite places to visit. Seeing Picasso’s Guernica at the Reina Sofia was one of the most powerful experiences in my life. I love all periods and styles of visual art. The paintings on the walls at Lascaux, Dawoud Bey’s photographs, Van Gogh, everything.

14 - What other writers or writings are important for your work, or simply your life outside of your work?

There are so many that I can’t choose! I often return to Marie Howe.

15 - What would you like to do that you haven't yet done?

There are many places in the world that I’d like to see, but I find travel so exhausting that I probably won’t see them. I’d like to learn another language.

16 - 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 was a middle and high school teacher for many years, and I consider teaching my calling. I wouldn’t have chosen another career. I love working with young people.

17 - What made you write, as opposed to doing something else?

That’s a question. I would have liked to play an instrument but my early attempts at violin didn’t go very far. I enjoyed drawing but didn’t have an opportunity to learn visual art in school. We didn’t have much art in my public schools, but we did have English language arts, and I loved the literature we studied, so that was an influence. If I’d had fine arts classes, maybe I would have developed visual art skills, but maybe not. I’m not good at sports or cooking.

18 - What was the last great book you read? What was the last great film?

“Great” is pretty subjective. A slim but beautifully written book I just read is Foster by Claire Keegan. I also liked Florida and Matrix by Lauren Groff. And Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So. I’m not sure about film. My favorite film is the original Alien, but I can’t say it’s “great.” I’ve rewatched it many times. I like many films, all genres..

I’m looking forward to my copy of Radi Os by Ronald Johnson, but it hasn’t yet arrived.

19 - What are you currently working on?

I’m currently writing poem by poem–no project or special theme.

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