12 or 20 (second series) questions with Megan Pinto

Megan Pinto is the author of Saints of Little Faith (Four Way Books, 2024). The winner of the 2023 Halley Prize from the Massachusetts Quarterly Review, Megan’s poems can be found in the Los Angeles Review of Books, Ploughshares, Lit Hub, and elsewhere.  She has received scholarships and fellowships from the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, the Martha's Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing, the Port Townsend Writers' Conference, Storyknife, and an Amy Award from Poets & Writers. Megan lives in Brooklyn and holds an MFA in Poetry from Warren Wilson.

1 - How did your first book change your life? How does your most recent work compare to your previous? How does it feel different?

Saints of Little Faith is my first book! I have always dreamed of having a book out in the world. Achieving a dream is life changing in and of itself. Now I know it is possible.

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

I read Anne Carson’s The Beauty of the Husband, in my first college English class and was forever changed. Before that point, I knew I wanted to be a writer. But after reading Carson, I knew I wanted to devote myself to studying poetry, and learning how to write beautifully.

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?

In the beginning, I am following little curiosities. I tend to let the poems accrue, and not worry too much about the larger architecture . About every 6 months or so, I like to print out everything I have been working on and tape it up on the wall. I leave it like that for another month, and revisit it frequently. I start to see how the poems are talking to each other, and my deeper interests and themes begin to reveal themselves to me. Then I go back to generating new work. 

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 for me with a musical phrase or an image. A rhythm that stays in my mind, and propels me into the draft. I would say I write musically, imagistic ally, and instinctually at first, and only later after many drafts I start to ask myself “what is this poem trying to say?”. I am mostly going poem by poem. Only toward the very end, once the manuscript has started to become clear to me, am I writing more specifically into the holes in the manuscript.

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

I see public readings as a parallel practice. I read my poems aloud in private while revising, but public readings are different. They sometimes reveal to me what I want to revise, if I falter over a line or verbally edit a phrase mid-reading, but mostly they teach me about my own vulnerabilities. What I’ve processed enough to share with others, and what still feels tender to me. 

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?

In terms of my own work, I’m less interested in theory and more in beauty. I hope I make something that allows other people to feel deeply. 

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?

To listen, not just hear. To look, not just see. 

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

Essential! I’m not too precious with my work and I always appreciate the extra eye of a trusted editor. Sometimes things that make sense to me inside my head do not totally translate. Four Way has been so wonderful with edits. Hannah Matheson (my brilliant editor) is so thoughtful and kind. Editors make me feel confident about releasing my work into the world.

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

After college I read Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit, and she talks about leaning against a problem or idea, instead of forcing a solution. I love that verb in this context. To lean against the idea. Keeping contact, but not forcing. Sharing some weight.  

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?

I tend to have writing heavy months and reading heavy months, and these alternate due to the demands of my day job (I work in advertising) and personal life. That being said, I can write whenever, wherever. If it’s a writing month, some days will have 5 minutes of writing, some will have hour long stretches. It depends on what I’m working on that week. If I’m generating heavily or revising. A typical day begins with some movement, coffee, and breakfast. Hopefully I have a little time to read something that is inspires me.

 

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

This is such an important part of the writing practice. For me, I’ve learned that whenever my writing is stalled, it means I’m not reading something that speaks to me deeply. When this happens, I’ll either turn to some of my favorite books, or I’ll start a new novel. This gets me connected with language again, and I can start to fill the well.

12 - What fragrance reminds you of home?

Honeysuckle. 

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 think everything influences my art. My engagement with writing is a byproduct of my engagement with living in the world.

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

So many. But to keep it brief: Larry Levis, Susan Mitchell, Bhanu Kapil, Anne Carson. These are writers I can always turn to when I am feeling lost. 

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

See the northern lights. 

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 would be a therapist. And I think I would be an excellent therapist. 

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

I love writing. Writing has led me to everything that is good in my life. It has guided me, shaped me, changed me. I don’t think it is possible to be bored if you’re a writer. At least not for long.

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

Animal by Lisa Taddeo. And I just re-watched Moonstruck and fell in love all over again. 

19 - What are you currently working on?

Resting. It’s so easy for me to be in motion. Lately I’ve gotten much better at saying no and taking time for myself. I’ve noticed this has benefited my writing immensely. I would like to continue finding balance between being in the world and cultivating solitude. 

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