How did you first come to poetry? What is it about the form that resonates?
I’ve been reading poetry since I was a pre-school child. (I learned to read by osmosis, through the attentions shown to my much older brother.) I remember being enthralled by early trips to the library, poring over books of simple rhymes where words and the white space danced and sparred. I started writng poetry as soon as I could negotiate a pencil.
I value the cadence of a poem. Apparently I sang
before I spoke, and rhythm remains essential. And I respond intently to a
poem’s figurative language. Feeling a metaphor at work in me is my first
recollection of holding something holy.
How did publishing your first chapbook change your writing? What have the differences been since?
Before putting my first brief booklet together, poems were like loopy running stitches. The chapbook forced me to be more purposeful, to pull those loose threads tight.
The trouble now is that I want to create more chapbooks, rather than focus on a full collection. I continue to think in terms of brief, imagistic volumes.
How does a poem begin?
For me a poem usually begins in metaphor, in the fusion of two disparate things. When I become aware of picture-ideas taking shape in my mind, I work to find the words that will affix them. I want to keep the energy of that unexpected collision vital.
Other times a poem springs from wordplay that is satisfying enough to pursue. I try to extend that playful musing with imagery. The shaping comes later.
Do you see your work as a single, extended project, or a series of threads that occasionally weave together to form something else?
I view every new poem with distinct surprise. Only later do I marvel at how it fits with the themes of other poems.
Have you a daily schedule by which you work, or are you working to fit this in between other activities?
I’m retired so I have daily stretches of time in which to write. But I’m undisciplined! I often pick up my pen at midnight. I confess to squandering hours thinking about the work instead of knuckling down. That said, whenever a new commitment is inked into my schedule, the first thing I want to do is protect my writing time.
I belong to an Ottawa writing group called Ruby Tuesday Poetry. My writing colleagues— nine fine, productive writers (mentioned below)— motivate me by example. Many of us have been meeting every week for twenty years, to write together and critique each other’s work. Our Tuesday morning sessions are my organizing principle. I generally get down to the business of creating, and the half-life sustains me through the week.
What are your favourite print or online literary journals?
Online journals I’m drawn to are Pinhole Poetry and Rust & Moth. I still mourn the loss of Juniper: a Poetry Journal. The New Quarterly is a print magazine I count on for a satisfying mix of poetry and fiction.
Who are some of the writers you have engaged with lately that most excite you?
The incredible poets I engage with weekly are: Frances Boyle, Deborah-Anne Tunney, Jean Van Loon, Sneha Madhavan-Reese, LM Rochefort, Doris Fiszer, Susan J. Atkinson, Mary Lee Bragg, and Claudia Coutu Radmore.
When I discovered Ocean Vuong, I was convinced that my fontanelle reopened, or had never really closed. I look for everything he writes, to reconnect with my vulnerablility. Ada Limón refreshes my perspective. I revisit Lorna Crozier weekly.
Perhaps my favourite poet is David O’Meara. The
best word for what I discover in David’s work is authenticity. He excels at the
vernacular but what he imparts is never common. His images are startling and
precise. David’s poetry reminds me to avoid the sentimental, the ornamental,
and the abstract.
Laurie Koensgen is a poet, an arts educator, and longtime advocate for the professional arts. She lives and writes in Ottawa. Her poetry has appeared internationally in over 100 journals, anthologies and online magazines. Recent publishers include Rust & Moth, Literary Review of Canada, Columba Poetry, Blade and Bloom, and Squid Literary and Arts Magazine. Laurie is a founding member of Ruby Tuesday Poetry, a self-directed writing group that has been meeting weekly since 2006. Her fourth chapbook, this clingstone love, is with Pinhole Poetry Press. @lauriekoensgen
Koensgen has work in the fifteenth issue.