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Author Statement
The inspiration for Letters from Conflict came from reading the poems and biography of WWI poet Edward Thomas. My husband is a Marine, and I’ve written letters to him and other deployed Marines. I felt Edward Thomas was in need of a letter, so I wrote him one in the form of an epistle poem, but I didn’t stop there because there were/are so many other poets who wrote/write in times of conflict. Together, the poems became a source of comfort and a bonding of community.
3 Questions
Lisa Stice
INK: What most inspires you to write?
L.S.: I love reading other poets and feeling a bond of emotion, whether it be sorrow, frustration, humor, grief, joy, etc. When I feel that connection, a poem might arise out of that emotion, and sometimes I might (like in Letters from Conflict) compose a poem for or in conversation with that writer.
INK: What does your writing routine look like?
L.S.: At one point, I was writing a poem a day, but that all changed with the pandemic. I got into a funk in which I didn’t create new poems, but I kept “writing” by editing older poems. Now, I’m back to writing, but only when ideas spontaneously spring up.
INK: Name a favorite poem you feel everyone should read and why.
L.S.: Ciaran Carson is my poem crush, so really, anything by him is excellent, but my favorite is “Bloody Hand.” It’s about context. In another context, the hand gesture at the back of the pub could be completely innocent, but in the context of The Troubles in Belfast, it’s something dark and violent.
Q&A with C.W. Bryan
C.W. Bryan: I think the choice to write epistle poems is an inspired one. The conversational tone inspires the reader to go and read the work of the poet you’re addressing. Therefore, how important do you think it is for the reader to search out the poets you are writing about/to?
L.S.: I very much do hope readers seek out the poets, not just because it will bring something additional to my poems, but because they’re all poets I love and I think should be read by others.
C.W. Bryan: I loved the moments of borrowed lines, notably from Mzi Mahola’s “Impossible Bridge” and Phillis Wheatley’s “A Farewell to America.” When writing this collection, were these poems already in mind? Or did you seek them out?
L.S.: I did have those poems already in mind, but I see a simultaneous kinship and contrast in them. Mzi Mahola is bold and straightforward, while Phillis Wheatley must be more subtle and guarded in her messaging.
C.W. Bryan: Akhmatova is one of my favorite poets, so I was excited to see a tribute to “Requiem” in the book. This collection reminds me of lines from the beginning of that poem, “Can you describe this? / And I said: “I can.”
You are not necessarily “describing” but collecting and sharing. How much do you feel that desire to remember and share these poets influenced this project?
L.S.: The desire to remember and share played a major role in this project. Some of the poets are taught in school, but some are quite obscure (with some out-of-print). I hope some people are also surprised by some of the poets they thought they knew, like Emily Dickinson wrote Civil War poetry. These writers are all important parts of my poetry community, and I think it would be devastating if their voices vanished into obscurity.
C.W. Bryan: There were notable poets missing from these letters that I would have expected to see. From just the World War I poets: Wilfred Owen, Robert Graves, and Siegfried Sassoon weren’t in the collection. I loved the variety (both in time and place) of poets you included, but do you have plans to keep expanding the project? Or have you said all you want to say in your letters?
L.S.: Yes, I would have loved to have included more poets. The WWI poets especially have a haunting aspect to them that calls for more poems in the future. There were also some poems that just weren’t ready yet. So yes, I can see a possible follow-up epistle poem collection.
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