#41 Backstory of the Poem “Dog Sitting” by Jonathan Kevin Rice
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?
Earlier last month a friend of mine asked me if I was able to watch her dogs for her over a three day weekend while she visited family in Oklahoma. It would be later in June. She knew I had watched dogs before for other friends. She has two terrier-mix dogs, who know me well and like me. They’re sweet dogs, so I knew I wouldn’t have a problem with them. I was free, so I agreed. After spending a lot of time with them and it was time for me to leave, I began to say my goodbyes to them, reassuring them that their mom would be home soon that night.
Where were you when you started to actually write the poem? And please describe the place in great detail.
In my car I listened to a Santana cd on my way home, when the poem started to come to me as I drove. The first thing I did at home was rush to my computer and started typing. I spent a few hours writing, revising, and playing with form and line breaks until I felt like I at least had a rough draft. I saved it and thought I’d return to it the next day. Over the course of that week I revisited the poem several times with the intent of keeping it simple, while trying to capture and express something larger…relationship between dogs, their owners and other people. In this case, the relationship is like family. I don’t even like to use the word owner in this context. I’m the parent of a dog and a cat. They are my children and I treat them as such. That’s the way it should be.
What month and year did you start writing this poem? June 2018
How many drafts of this poem did you write before going to the final? (And can you share aphotograph of your rough drafts with pen markings on it?)
With this poem, I didn’t have to do that much revising. It came to me organically. It’s not like I had an idea and I made an effort to write it. It just started coming to me and I went with it. Of course, I needed to craft the poem and ran it by a few poet friends in the process, so a few weeks ensued before I became more comfortable with it.
What do you want readers of this poem to take from this poem?
I think readers with animals in their families will connect with this poem right away, while other readers may understand it some or not at all. I think this is basically a love poem though, and love is universal. There is always the danger of sentimentalism in a poem that can ruin it for the critical reader. I hope this poem doesn’t cross that line.
Has this poem been published before? And if so where? Since it is a new poem, it hasn’t been published and I haven’t submitted it anywhere. I do intend on including it in my next collection though.
Jonathan K. Rice edited and published Iodine Poetry Journal for seventeen years and served as a co-editor for Kakalak in 2016. He most recently co-edited Of Burgers & Barrooms, an anthology published by Main Street Rag Publishing in 2017.
He is the author of two full-length poetry collections, Killing Time (2015) and Ukulele and Other Poems (2006), as well as the chapbook, Shooting Pool with a Cellist (2003), all published by Main Street Rag Publishing. He is the recipient of the 2012 Irene Blair Honeycutt Legacy Award for outstanding service in support of local and regional writers, awarded by Central Piedmont Community College. His art and poetry have appeared in numerous publications. Jonathan lives in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Contact info:
Jonathan K. Rice
email: jkriceartist@gmail.com
Facebook: Jonathan Kevin Rice
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”
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https://christalcooper.com/004-backstory-of-the-poem-modern-matsushima-by-sonia-saikaley/
#005 Backstory of the Poem
“Side Yard”
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http://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/01/5-backstory-of-poem-sidewalk-by-ellen.html
#006 Backstory of the Poem
“The Ringmaster”
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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”
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#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
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#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”
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https://christalcooper.com/23-backstory-of-the-poem-jesus-zombie-by-bill-yarrow/
#24 Backstory of the Poem
“Brag 2016:
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#025 Backstory of the Poem
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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
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#037 Backstory of the Poem
“Melania’s Deaf Tone Jacket”
By Heather McKeon
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#038 Backstory of the Poem
“Women of the Fields”
by Andrena Azwinski
#039 Backstory of the Poem
“Poe”
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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