#046 Backstory of the Poem “Poem In the Throat” from the poetry collection INNERMOST SEA, by Nancy Dafoe and published by Finishing Line Press on November 30, 2018
https://finishinglinepress.com/product/innermost-sea-by-nancy-dafoe/
Can you go through the step-by-step process of writing this poem from the moment the idea was first conceived in your brain until final form? I had not written a poem in a while and felt stopped. After reading the poems, I thought about all the people in the world who live under life-threatening (situations) and write poetry as food for the soul. There is an urgency to poetry that we can (not) forget. These Cuban poets from the revolution reminded me. My poem became my experience of this discovery.
https://www.amazon.com/Whole-Island-Mark-Weiss/dp/0520258940/ref=sr_1_1?crid=19
Where were you when you started to actually write the poem? And please describe the place in great detail.
I was wandering around in an amazing bookstore called Before Your Quiet Eyes in Rochester. (https://www.facebook.com/Before-Your-Quiet-Eyes-117819551577246/) This little bookstore is a throwback to another era when bookstores were homes to writers and readers, the owner on hand, asking if anyone needed anything. In the hallway, the owner had coffee and treats set out for those who were attending a reading by an author. The shelves are overflowing with an eclectic mix of books, artifacts, and artwork. A painting of a Greek God on canvas is rolled up, and I unroll it and ask about the artist. Of course, the bookstore owner Kenneth Kelbaugh (https://www.facebook.com/kenneth.kelbaugh.5?lst=100029084873951%3A1314859461%3A1544119399) knows the story. I also find a signed little book of Ursula LeGuinn’s (http://www.ursulakleguin.com/) stories that I buy for a dear friend. This is the kind of maze bookstore where you can get lost in dreams. Around a corner, I find a collection of Cuban poets that began the journey to my poem described here.
What month and year did you start writing this poem? I wrote this poem in November 2017.
How many drafts of this poem did you write before going to the final? (And can you share a photograph of your rough drafts with pen markings on it?)
I probably created at least 5 or 6 drafts of this poem, if not more. I tend to delete early drafts, so I’m not exactly sure.
Were there any lines in any of your rough drafts of this poem that were not in the final version? And can you share them with us?
There were definitely eliminated lines, particularly the ending and beginning. I wrote and reworked until they felt true to the experience of both discovery and the necessity of poetry.
What do you want readers of this poem to take from this poem?
I would love readers to go explore poets they are unfamiliar with, particularly those from other countries and to remember the feeling of urgency in poetry, how our truest utterances are in poetic form.
Which part of the poem was the most emotional of you to write and why?
The entire poem is emotional to me because it got me “unstuck” and brought me to other poets in a very immediate way.
Has this poem been published before? And if so where? This poem had not been published until it appears in my new collection.
Anything you would like to add?
I write two blogs for writers on my websites, including reviews of other writers’ books. Lastly, thank you for doing these interviews. Lovely.
Nancy Dafoe is a poet, prose writer, and educator. She has eight, traditionally published books, including two novels, a memoir about going through Alzheimer’s with her mother, three books on writing and education, and two books of poetry.
She can be reached via emails through any of her three websites:
https://www.nancydafoebooks.com/
https://www.nancydafoefiction.com
https://www.facebook.com/nancy.dafoe.3
001 Backstory of the Poem
“12 – 2014” from the poetry collection BEFORE THE DROUGHT by Margo Berdeshevsky published by Glass Lyre Press on September 15, 2017
#002 Backstory of the Poem
“82 Miles from the Beach, We Order The Lobster At Clear Lake Café”
by Alexis Rhone Fancher
#003 Backstory of the Poem
“Orange”
by Barbara Crooker
https://christalcooper.com/003-backstory-of-the-poem-orange-by-barbara-crooker/
#004 Backstory of the Poem
“Modern Matsushima”
by Sonia Saikaley
https://christalcooper.com/004-backstory-of-the-poem-modern-matsushima-by-sonia-saikaley/
#005 Backstory of the Poem
“Side Yard”
By Ellen Foos
http://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/01/5-backstory-of-poem-sidewalk-by-ellen.html
#006 Backstory of the Poem
“The Ringmaster”
By Susan Sundwall
https://christalcooper.com/006-backstory-of-the-poem-the-ringmaster/
#007 Backstory of the Poem
“That Night”
by Leslea Newman
https://christalcooper.com/007-backstory-of-the-poem-that-night-by-leslea-newman/
#008 Backstory of the Poem
“June Fairchild Isn’t Dead”
by Alexis Rhone Fancher
#009 Backstory of the Poem
“The Gift of the Year with Granny”
By Charles Clifford Brooks III
#010 Backstory of the Poem
“The Natural Reflection of Your Palms”
by Scott Thomas Outlar
https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/03/chris-ricecooper-caccoopaol.html
#011 Backstory of the Poem
“After Diane Beatty’s Photograph “History Abandoned”
by Anya Francesca Jenkins
#012 Backstory of the Poem
“What I Learned This Week”
By Angela Narciso Torres
#013 Backstory of the Poem
“Holidays On ICE”
By Jan Steckel
https://christalcooper.com/013-backstory-of-the-poem-holiday-on-ice-by-jan-steckel/
#014 Backstory of the Poem
“Colors”
by Ibrahim Honjo
https://christalcooper.com/014-backstory-of-the-poem-colors-by-ibrahim-honjo/
#015 Backstory of the Poem
“Ode To Disappointment”
By Marilyn Kallett
https://christalcooper.com/015-backstory-of-the-poem-ode-to-disappointment-by-marilyn-kallet/
#016 Backstory of the Poem
“Reliquary”
by Beth Copeland
#017 Backstory of the Poem
‘The Swallows of Barcelona”
by Marlon L. Fick
https://christalcooper.com/17-backstory-of-the-poem-the-swallows-of-barcelona-by-marlon-fick/
#18th Backstory of the Poem
“Arterial Discombobulation”
by Juliet Cook
#19th Backstory of the Poem
“Stiletto Killer . . . A Surmise” from the poetry collection ENTER HERE
By Alexis Rhone Fancher
#20 Backstory of the Poem
“At Last I Can Start Suffering”
By Charles Rammelkamp
#21 Backstory of the Poem
“Wind Chimes”
by Marla Shaw O’Neil
#022 Backstory of the Poem
“Studying Ariel”
by Julia Gordon-Bramer
https://christalcooper.com/22-backstory-of-the-poem-studying-ariel-by-julia-gordon-bramer/
#023 Backstory of Poem
“Jesus Zombie”
by Bill Yarrow
https://christalcooper.com/23-backstory-of-the-poem-jesus-zombie-by-bill-yarrow/
#24 Backstory of the Poem
“Brag 2016:
by Telaina Eriksen
#025 Backstory of the Poem
“It is only Yourself that Bends – so Wake up!”
by Seth Berg
#26 Backstory of the Poem
“Devil In the Details”
by David Herrle
https://christalcooper.com/26-backstory-of-the-poem-devil-in-the-details-by-david-herrle/
#27 Backstory of the Poem
“Carmen Polo, Lady Necklaces, 2017”
by Gloria Mindock
#28 Backstory of the Poem
“Two Deaths”
by Connie Post
https://christalcooper.com/28-backstory-of-the-poem-two-deaths-by-connie-post/
#029 Backstory of the Poem
“Faces in a Crowd”
by Mary Harwell Sayler
#030 Backstory of the Poem
“The Risking Point”
by Larry Jaffe
#031 Backstory of the Poem
031 September 24, 2018
Mark Lee Webb’s “After We Drove”
https://christalcooper.com/31-backstory-of-the-poem-after-we-drove-by-mark-lee-webb/
#032 Backstory of the Poem
“Astral”
by Melissa Studdard
https://christalcooper.com/32-backstory-of-the-poem-astral-by-melissa-studdard/
#033 Backstory of the Poem
“I Have A Bass Guitar Called Vanessa”
#034 Backstory of the Poem
David Sullivan’s “Paper Mache Peaches of Heaven”
https://christalcooper.com/34-backstory-of-the-poem-paper-mache-peaches-of-heaven-by-david-sullivan/
#035 Backstory of the Poem
“Sobriety”
by Timothy Gager
#036 Backstory of the Poem
“The Second Breakfast”
by Gary Glauber
https://christalcooper.com/36-backstory-of-the-poem-the-second-breakfast-by-gary-glauber/
#037 Backstory of the Poem
“Melania’s Deaf Tone Jacket”
By Heather McKeon
https://christalcooper.com/37-backstory-of-the-poem-melanias-tone-deaf-by-heather-forbes-mckeon/
#038 Backstory of the Poem
“Women of the Fields”
by Andrena Azwinski
#039 Backstory of the Poem
“Poe”
by Gordon Hilgers
https://christalcooper.com/39-backstory-of-the-poem-poe-by-gordon-hilgers/
#040 Backstory of the Poems
“My Children Question Me About Poetry” and “Deathbed Dreams”
By Rita Quillen
#041 Backstory of the Poem
“Dog Sitting”
by Jonathan Kevin Rice
https://christalcooper.com/41-backstory-of-the-poem-dog-sitting-by-jonathan-kevin-rice/
042 Backstory of the Poem
“Mountain”
by Haroldo Barbosa Filho
https://christalcooper.com/42-backstory-of-the-poem-mountain-by-haroldo-barbosa-filho/
042 Backstory of the Poem
#43 Backstory of the Poem
“Grief Flowers” from the anthology ‘
by Megan Merchant
https://christalcooper.com/?p=1881&preview=true
#44 Backstory of the poem
“This Poem is too Neat”
By Jonathan Taylor
#45 Backstory of the Poem
“Sungmyo for our Dead Father-in-Law
by Ian Haight