Interview with poet Jennifer A. Payne

Welcome, Readers. My special guest today is poet/author/photographer Jennifer Payne. She’s sharing a bit about her new collection of poems, Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind.

Bio:

Jen Payne is inspired by those life moments that move us most — love and loss, joy and disappointment, milestones and turning points. Her writing serves as witness to these in the form of poetry, creative non-fiction, flash fiction and essay. When she is not exploring our connections with one another, she enjoys writing about our relationships with nature, creativity, and mindfulness, and how these offer the clearest path to finding balance in our frenetic, spinning world. Her creative efforts can be found on her blog, Random Acts of Writing, www.randomactsofwriting.net.

Her writing has been published by The Aurorean, Six Sentences, the Story Circle Network, WOW! Women on Writing, and The Perch, a publication by the Yale Program for Recovery & Community Health. Jen is the author of LOOK UP! Musings on the Nature of Mindfulness, and the new book Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind.

What do you enjoy most about writing poems?

Many of my poems show up as whispers of ideas. Maybe one line or two that reveal themselves…suddenly, from out of nowhere. That's the most exciting part—that magic! Then...what comes next? where will that whisper lead me? To your question, what I enjoy most is allowing the poem to show up and become what it needs to become, allowing myself to be open to the creative spirit so I can tell the story.

Can you give us a little insight into a few of your poems – perhaps a couple of your favorites?

One of my favorite poems in the new book is called “Microcosm.” It's about two separate encounters, one with a spider on my desk, and one with a fish by a pond—and me, wondering what they might be thinking about as we crossed paths. You know, in that same way you wonder about the lives of people in the lit-up rooms of houses you drive by at night?

Microcosm

The spider had a curious look --

not curious as in odd,

but curious, inquisitive, intrigued.

I saw him from the corner of my eye

watching me, then rummaging

through a pile of paper,

back again for a second look,

peering as if to say Who Are YOU?

(or WHAT I suppose)

Perhaps the same look of WHAT?

the fish had as it soared over the pond

yesterday afternoon…

Who are YOU? to the osprey,

and WHEN did I learn to fly?

Another favorite is “I Am Just the World.” It was one of those poems that just showed up, as I was saying before. I was walking on my favorite trail in the woods, and heard the something crawling. I followed the sound and found a spotted turtle making its way through the fall leaves. Spotted turtles are listed as a species of concern/endangered, so this was a very special sighting. And poignant.

I Am Just the World

Pay no attention.

I'm just here

beneath these trees,

their forgotten leaves

warm from the sun.

Never mind

my slow traverse,

I'll step aside for you.

Make myself small

so you forget

I am light and love,

the god to which you pray,

the universe upon my back,

everything.

I think some people take offense that I anthropomorphize the creatures I meet in the woods - give them personalities and narratives. But, it's not like I think they are skipping around in the forest singing and such. I use personification to get the reader to think outside of themselves, to consider the other creatures with whom we share this planet. We're all connected...that is, ultimately, the theme of Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind, and of a lot of my other writing.

What form are you inspired to write in the most? Why?

I write mostly free form poetry. It's simply how my muse speaks to me right now. However, I have been working with a group of local poets, the Guilford Poets Guild, for the past few years. Very often they write in specific forms— a sonnet, a villanelle, haiku. I've been thinking I'd like to challenge myself to look to form a little more in my work. That could be fun!

What type of project are you working on next?

For the near future, I've been thinking about publishing a short story I wrote called Water Under the Bridge. It's an epistolary novella told through a series of emails. And then another book of poetry, but that won't be for several years.

Author photo by Christine Chiocchio

When did you first consider yourself a writer / poet?

I’ve been a writer for as long as I can remember — grade school creative writing, high school newspaper, college journalism, freelance writing, zine publishing. For the past 25 years, I’ve been the wearer of all hats – editor, copy writer, marketing wordsmith – as the owner of Words by Jen, a graphic design business in Branford, Connecticut.

I maintain a regular blog, Random Acts of Writing (www.randomactsofwriting.net) on which I write essays, travelogues, book reviews, flash fiction, and poetry.

I have written poetry for much of my life, but have gravitated to that form almost exclusively for the past three or four years.

How do you research markets for your work, perhaps as some advice for not-yet-published poets?

Just write. That's my advice. It's very easy to get caught up in the “business” of writing - editing, researching, preparing, submitting (and waiting), then doing that all over again for the next poem. I call it “hoop jumping.”

Better to just make time to do the writing, perfect your craft, connect with other writers. Just write.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I do my best writing at 3:00 a.m. I love the quiet of the early hours of the morning, before anyone else is awake. There are no distractions - none of the bells and dings and buzzing of our social technologies. Just sweet dark quiet…and coffee.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Honestly? I wanted to be Jeannie from I Dream of Jeannie. I loved her little bottle house! Wouldn't that be a great place to write? Plus, she had magical powers. What could be better than that?

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Yes. Don't fight with your craft. Let it be. Let it do what it wants to do. I see a lot of angst-ridden memes about writers. Quotes that talk about the suffering we must endure, the anguish of writer's block, the agony of rejection letters. Forget all of that and Just Write. Here's a great quote to think about from writer Alan Moore…

“To me, all creativity is magic. Ideas start out in the empty void of your head – and they end up as a material thing, like a book you can hold in your hand. That is the magical process. It’s an alchemical thing. Yes, we do get the gold out of it but that’s not the most important thing. It’s the work itself.” ― Alan Moore

(Hey! So, maybe I have magical powers after all.)

Links:

Website | Facebook | Etsy shop | Blog | Twitter | YouTube trailer

Thanks for being here today, Jen.

Thank you, Lisa, for this chance to talk with you and your readers about writing and my new book!