How did you first come to poetry?
In grade five we were given the assignment of memorizing a poem, then reciting it in front of the class. With a little guidance from my mother I chose Trees by Joyce Kilmer and was immediately enchanted with the musicality of the words as well as the fact that because of this poem I suddenly started to view trees through a more introspective, empathetic lens. It felt like a powerful shift.
How does a poem begin?
There are so many ways a poem can begin. For me it usually starts with emotion, or the idea of being stirred, startled, disturbed or enchanted by something or someone. It can be a faint memory from childhood, an object that represents something personal or important, or even a song that happens to hit me the right way that requires me to linger in its wake. It can really be almost anything. Above all, whatever topic it is it must be tensile; something that I am willing to sit with and unpack.
How are you finding the process of learning how to put together a manuscript? What are the challenges?
For me it has been a huge exercise in patience and intuition. I had never completed a full poetry manuscript before so it was a bit of a learning curve, organizing the poems, making sure they functioned as a singular readable unit that pulsed with its own identity as opposed to a haphazard amalgamation of years’ worth of work. One of the biggest challenges for me was making sure each poem lead into the next. I find that when you are in the early stages of drafting each poem you aren’t necessarily thinking about how it will perform in a manuscript. The planning is so much more microscopic at this stage; which is beautiful but can a bit scary.
You’ve published poetry and fiction. Do you see your writing as a single, extended project, or a series of disconnected threads? How do you keep the genres straight?
I’d say my writing is made up of similar but very separate threads at the moment. I am still figuring out how to keep the genres straight. These last two years I have spent more of my time with poetry so I have a clearer idea of the direction I am going with it and plan to go with it. With my fiction, I am still wading through the core of what I want it to be. Having said whether I am writing poetry or fiction I hover around similar themes which include; sexual politics of relationship/marriage, motherhood, emotional trauma, broken family dynamics, female friendship.
Have you a daily schedule by which you work, or are you working to fit this in between other activities ?
I try not to get into the habit of wishing my life away but I do really wish I was at a point in my life where I could schedule in a daily writing practice, but unfortunately when you have two young kids with school and activities it can be a challenge trying to carve out that extra time. I have a lot of things in my life vying for attention at the moment and usually writing is the last thing that gets the love. I have actually gotten into the habit lately of undergoing a self-imposed “attention audit” which is basically me monitoring and finger wagging myself regarding all the BS that is taking up my attention (social media, Hollywood gossip blogs, television etc.) Let’s just say I am trying J
What are your favourite print or online literary journals?
Not an easy question, there are so many good ones out there right now. For online I would have to say The Maynard always impresses me with how emotionally precise the poems are. They feature really interesting, fresh work that always manages to catch me off guard in a good way. Bad Dog Review, a newer online journal is another online favorite of mine showcasing a vast range of writers in various stages of their careers. And there are almost too many print journals I enjoy reading but the ones I seem to find myself lingering on are, Room, The Fiddlehead, Event, Grain, CV2 and SubTerrain.
Who are some of the writers you are reading lately that most excite you?
A while ago I read Joelle Barron’s Ritual Lights and was completely dazzled by the honesty and control each poem contained. I also really enjoyed Adrienne Gruber’s Q&A and Gwen Benaway’s Holy Wild, and pretty much every chapbook that comes out of Rahila’s Ghost Press.
Carlie Blume is a Vancouver born writer of poetry and fiction. She
is a 2017 graduate of The Writer’s Studio as well as a recent graduate from the
Vancouver Manuscript Intensive and Chelene Knight’s Advanced Poetry Workshop.
Her work has appeared in The Maynard,
Train: a poetry journal, Loose Lips Magazine, Pulp MAG, GUEST poetry journal and BAD
DOG Review. She is currently working on her first novel.
A selection of her poems appeared in the second issue.
In grade five we were given the assignment of memorizing a poem, then reciting it in front of the class. With a little guidance from my mother I chose Trees by Joyce Kilmer and was immediately enchanted with the musicality of the words as well as the fact that because of this poem I suddenly started to view trees through a more introspective, empathetic lens. It felt like a powerful shift.
How does a poem begin?
There are so many ways a poem can begin. For me it usually starts with emotion, or the idea of being stirred, startled, disturbed or enchanted by something or someone. It can be a faint memory from childhood, an object that represents something personal or important, or even a song that happens to hit me the right way that requires me to linger in its wake. It can really be almost anything. Above all, whatever topic it is it must be tensile; something that I am willing to sit with and unpack.
How are you finding the process of learning how to put together a manuscript? What are the challenges?
For me it has been a huge exercise in patience and intuition. I had never completed a full poetry manuscript before so it was a bit of a learning curve, organizing the poems, making sure they functioned as a singular readable unit that pulsed with its own identity as opposed to a haphazard amalgamation of years’ worth of work. One of the biggest challenges for me was making sure each poem lead into the next. I find that when you are in the early stages of drafting each poem you aren’t necessarily thinking about how it will perform in a manuscript. The planning is so much more microscopic at this stage; which is beautiful but can a bit scary.
You’ve published poetry and fiction. Do you see your writing as a single, extended project, or a series of disconnected threads? How do you keep the genres straight?
I’d say my writing is made up of similar but very separate threads at the moment. I am still figuring out how to keep the genres straight. These last two years I have spent more of my time with poetry so I have a clearer idea of the direction I am going with it and plan to go with it. With my fiction, I am still wading through the core of what I want it to be. Having said whether I am writing poetry or fiction I hover around similar themes which include; sexual politics of relationship/marriage, motherhood, emotional trauma, broken family dynamics, female friendship.
Have you a daily schedule by which you work, or are you working to fit this in between other activities ?
I try not to get into the habit of wishing my life away but I do really wish I was at a point in my life where I could schedule in a daily writing practice, but unfortunately when you have two young kids with school and activities it can be a challenge trying to carve out that extra time. I have a lot of things in my life vying for attention at the moment and usually writing is the last thing that gets the love. I have actually gotten into the habit lately of undergoing a self-imposed “attention audit” which is basically me monitoring and finger wagging myself regarding all the BS that is taking up my attention (social media, Hollywood gossip blogs, television etc.) Let’s just say I am trying J
What are your favourite print or online literary journals?
Not an easy question, there are so many good ones out there right now. For online I would have to say The Maynard always impresses me with how emotionally precise the poems are. They feature really interesting, fresh work that always manages to catch me off guard in a good way. Bad Dog Review, a newer online journal is another online favorite of mine showcasing a vast range of writers in various stages of their careers. And there are almost too many print journals I enjoy reading but the ones I seem to find myself lingering on are, Room, The Fiddlehead, Event, Grain, CV2 and SubTerrain.
Who are some of the writers you are reading lately that most excite you?
A while ago I read Joelle Barron’s Ritual Lights and was completely dazzled by the honesty and control each poem contained. I also really enjoyed Adrienne Gruber’s Q&A and Gwen Benaway’s Holy Wild, and pretty much every chapbook that comes out of Rahila’s Ghost Press.
A selection of her poems appeared in the second issue.