Monday 30 September 2013

And now for something completely different... Poetry!

Next up on my guest list is Joanne Faries. Joanne is a great blogging friend, who has supported me since Cat and The Dreamer was a mere kitten, so when I noticed she was publishing three collections of poetry with a whisper, I thought I should shout about them for her!!


Amazon US and UK
Amazon US and UK

No memorization required!!!  No hidden meanings.

Amazon US and UK

Follow the links under each title to take you directly to the Amazon page of your choice.



Welcome to my blog, Joanne. I'll admit it straight away, I'm a little out of my depth when it comes to poetry... Tell me a bit about the collections you've just published? 

Thanks, Annalisa, for having me and I'm out of my depth on poetry too. It's the last thing I expected to write. However, I met Sheryl Nelms through Trinity Writers' Workshop.  Her poems were funny and I understood them. I could express myself with poetry, and actually my first publishing successes in on-line journals were poems. Now over five years later, I chose to compile my work and certain themes sorted out - nature/childhood nostalgia/emotion. I decided to keep my Wordsplash title and call these Poetry Puddle. I hope folks splash through the collections and come away thinking, "Huh, I like poetry. Who knew?"

Yes, your blog is called Word Splash and your collection of flash fiction is called Word Splash Flash. I read and loved your flash fiction, so I'm looking forward to reading these collections. Do you prefer writing prose or poetry?

ThanksThe words flow into prose or poetry depending on how the picture takes shape. Some tales need dialogue and become flash. Some teensy thought just needs word brush strokes to become a poem (and they can have a small plot or a character - read Brush Your Teeth in Hazy Memory. It conveys astonishment at my Nana's false teeth)

How do your ideas form themselves into finished poems? I've read thousands of fiction writers' methodologies, is poetry similar? 

I hear a phrase or drive in fog or sit on my patio in Texas having heat stroke - there are a few "hot" poems in Nature.  In Hazy Memory - I reflected on times at the beach or with my grandmother. I had a happy childhood, so these poems are joyful gauzy memories. In Tread Water - I tap some deeper emotions. I have one about communication. It evolved from watching folks dining out and not talking. Everyone was staring at a cellphone.

Have you ever started writing a poem and found it turned itself into a piece of flash fiction? 

Absolutely and vice versa. I'll write a flash and decide I like some phrasing or image, and turn it into a poem. It's funny - I have trouble writing full blown fiction. Maybe it's my business background, but I was great at writing terse memos. Now, the few novels I've attempted - I find them too talkie. I can't seem to expand. I remove extraneous verbiage, and use a thesaurus, etc to choose the absolute right word. I also like the letter "S" - I definitely use a lot of slithery, slippery, skedaddle words.  

Do you float around meadows staring at the clouds like Wordsworth? (Yes, my vision of poets is very romantic!)

In Texas, you float in the pool. Splish, splash.

What question are you dying to be asked that no one has ever asked you?

Which poem has been rejected the most, but you love it anyway? Answer - Hardy Garden and yes it is in the Nature book.
Final thoughts: 
I will say - don't be afraid of poetry. I hope my poems demonstrate that and just make folks happy or nod their heads in agreement at the moment I captured. I haven't studied meter or anything fancy and I don't pretend to think I'm Maya Angelou or Mary Oliver. I try to space the words on the page as needed and sometimes the whitespace adds dimension to the poem story. Sound is important - the words need to clunk, clink, kerplop - they add action and can heighten tension.

I used the word shlop in one of my stories  - I love words like that! Thanks for visiting my blog today, and good luck with your collections.

Joanne Faries




38 comments:

  1. Congrats Joanne... I admire you for writing poetry. Best of luck with your books.

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    1. I wrote a poem once.... So yes, I admire people who can write it too :-)

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  2. I remember when I had my "Huh, I like poetry. Who knew?" moment. It was quite the revelation.

    Congratulations on your books, Joanne. Best of luck with them!

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    1. It's fantastic when you find a writer who makes you feel that way. I was lucky enough to have a sneak peek at Joanne's, and it's fantastic :-)

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  3. thanks, Annalisa. This was a fun interview.

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    1. You're welcome. It's a nice change of pace for my blog - I've never featured poetry before.

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  4. Lovely interview, Annalisa! Good luck with the books, Joanne!

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  5. I love poetry and love when prose writers incorporate poetry into their work. I fall in love with writers like May Sarton who had her roots in poetry. Something in the choice and flow of words reaches my soul. Going to check your sites out. Thanks for the introduction, Annalisa.

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    1. I'm going to have to give poetry more of a chance, I think. I love how you describe it as reaching your soul.

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  6. I've always been a big lover of poetry, ever since my mom read me The Highwayman and The Raven as a kid. Congrats Joanne for keeping up with such an amazing tradition and writing genre!

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    1. I think I was put off at school. When you study anything too deeply it tends to ruin it.

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  7. I like the words she adds to convey sound!

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    1. Poets get to play around with lots of fun words and sounds, don't they?

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  8. Wonderful interview. It's great to meet you, Joanne!

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  9. I should read more poetry. I admire poets who can create a distinct mood with a deft choice of words. Congrats to Joanne!

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  10. Its great to meet Joanne. I'm not very good at poetry. But I do appreciate anyone who does write it. Best wishes to you!

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    1. I wrote one poem, once, that I thought was okay at the time... then I re-read it and realised I am not a poet!

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  11. I definitely need more poetry in my life. It's been quite a while since I purchased a good book of poetry. Will have to check these out!

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  12. This sounds really interesting, Joanne. Thanks, Annalisa for spreading the word :-)

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  13. Best of luck to Joann. I'm totally out of my element with poetry too. It's hard to write...I think it's difficulty is way underestimated!

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    1. Easy to write it badly though, I'm expert in writing it badly :-)

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  14. Hi Annalisa and hi Joanne,

    When it comes to poetry, I can take it or leave it. Although I do admire the fact you like to goes with a bit of prose.

    All the best. I do not jest :)

    Gary

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  15. What a sales pitch! No hidden meanings or memorization involved? What a deal.

    Good luck with your books, Joanne... and thanks to you, Annalisa, for spreading the word about them.

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  16. Great interview. Joanne makes writing poetry sound like a piece of cake. I think I want to read her work just to say the word Shlop out loud.

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    1. Joanne does make it sound easy, doesn't she? I might give it another go - but don't worry, I won't be sharing it :-)

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  17. I'm pleased to meet Joanne. I'm all for onomatopoeia. They make words come alive.

    I can see how a poem turns into something more.

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    1. Done well, poetry is amazing. I only seem to read the stuff that confuses me even more! I'm looking forward to reading Joanne's.

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  18. Hi Joanne .. good to meet her here Annalisa - today is Poetry day too - or maybe it's just poetry on the trains .. I know they had some great readings this morning .. that rhythm of the chuntering trains ...

    Cheers to you both - Hilary

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    1. Poetry on trains is a great idea. Perhaps it's like Shakespeare - it should be read aloud and listened to, rather than read silently? Perhaps I should try it that way.

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