Writing History: An Interview with Historical Fiction Author Curt J. Robinette

Writing History: An Interview with Historical Fiction Author Curt J. Robinette

Currently visiting his hometown of Nelsonville, Ohio, I caught up with Curt J. Robinette and asked him about his new book, writing, and more. His new book UNITL I HAVE NO MORE TO GIVE: A Hiram Robinett Story of the Civil War, released this month. Curt will be signing books tomorrow, July 20th, at the new Hole in the Ville, on the Nelsonville Public Square.

Welcome, Curt!

GM: What is the premise for your new book?
CR:  Like most Americans, I believed that 1861-1865 encompassed the most terrible years in the history of our country. Very little effort has taken place to put those four years into proper perspective. While not suggesting that Hiram's story will enlighten you totally to this incredible time in history, it will give the reader the opportunity to see the challenges our country faced after the shooting stopped. "Reconstruction" was no such thing. Our government, led by an uncaring bigoted and prejudiced President, failed miserably to handle the transition of 4-plus million freed blacks and then blamed that failure on 1,000 members of The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands. My grandfather's half-brother was one of those Freedmen's Bureau personnel and I tried my best to show the daily insurmountable challenges faced by these true American Heroes. Their accomplishments still shine brightly today. Sadly, most of us do not know the story.

GM: What would you like readers to take away from your book?
CR:  To understand how incredibly difficult "Equality for All" has been and continues to be. I could offer bunches of opinions, including many facts, perhaps an equal number of excuses; but I would hope that folks discover it on their own.

GM: Certainly, a lot of research has gone into your new book. The hours spent in research will enlighten those looking for more information about that era. What are you currently writing?
CR:  I have multiple "starts" that I would like to turn into something enjoyable. Having a limited imagination, I really have to rely on facts. I have several stories lumped together in a group called "Stories I May Never Complete". I believe I have one more 'good' story in me focused on my great grandparents and their children. Maybe that's next.

GM: Besides writing, what do you like to do for fun?
CR:  The NEW Nelsonville Tribune is a facebook group that hopes to keep the spirit of Nelsonville alive. I spend three to four hours a day living in the past and looking for fun and funny things to share. I spend an hour or so a day watching the Nelsonville Chamber of Commerce Live Cam, hoping to see folks that I know. I absolutely love the public square. My heart is there.

GM: Do you have advice for novice writers?
CR:  Find someone who believes in you and what you are trying to do. Number one, above all else, try it. I absolutely had no idea if I could tell a story or not. If you don't try, guess what? You won't know either.

GM: I don’t think people realize the hard work that goes into writing a book! I am sure you have derived inspiration from other authors along the way. Who is your favorite author?  
CR:  Hasn't changed over the years. Zane Grey and Larry McMurtry.

GM: What are you currently reading?
CR:  Civil War period articles are my favorite. Not particularly the battles, more the lives of the folks involved and those impacted.

GM: Take us through a day in your life as a writer...
CR:  I get on Facebook and The NEW Nelsonville Tribune, do birthdays for members, look for interesting tales or facts offered up by members or Facebook offerings. I don't write every day or it wouldn't take five years between books.

GM: Any thoughts on the state of the world? Has current events impacted your role as a writer?
CR:  Just spent a few years in the years 1865-1868 which really helped me in dealing with the pathetic situation today that we call our Government. Things were absolutely terrible for at least a decade called the 1860s. Our current situations, not only in the US, but throughout a large part of the World, are potentially as bad and could become worse in a heartbeat. Realistically and because of the new weapons compared to the past, we probably should be worried.

My current book was hard to tell because it was such a negative time in history. You have to get involved to understand and have any chance to tell a story that appropriately creates the environment. I don't believe I am capable of writing of our current circumstances. Far too complicated for this country boy.

Connect with Curt…

Chauncey's Blood

Until I Have No More To Give

Curt's Facebook Author Page

The New Nelsonville Tribune

Writer Wellness: An Interview with Author Joy E. Held

 

An Interview with Author Joy E. Held

Welcome Joy E. Held, an award-winning author who offers “everyone information and ideas for how to create and sustain a writing career.” She enables novice writers to begin, and engages seasoned writers to succeed. Joy promotes a “customizable approach for any writer of any genre at any stage of development designed to cultivate a healthy lifestyle and a satisfying writing career.”

GM: What is the premise for your new book?

JH: The premise of my current nonfiction book is an interactive workbook of activities for creative folks. There are exercises and journal pages in the areas of journaling, fitness, relaxation, nutrition, and creative play. The book is titled Writer Wellness Workbook: A guided workbook and journal to accompany Writer Wellness: A Writer's Path to Health and Creativity. It came out in July 2023.

GM: Who is your target audience/niche market?

JH: The target audience and niche market is anyone in the creative arts with a desire to create and maintain a healthy life in a few minutes a day. Especially writers.

GM: What would you like readers to take away from your book?

JH: Writer Wellness Workbook is a safe place to spell out, experiment with, and practice your crazy, juicy ideas about journaling, fitness, relaxation, nutrition, and creative play. As a companion piece to the book Writer Wellness: A Writer's Path to Health and Creativity, it is designed to be a container for a set of actionable techniques that will contribute to your coping skills, organization tactics, and outlook on life as a creator. All you have to do is follow the guidance in this workbook to reflect, collect, select, and connect with your inner wisdom. When you do, the world of creativity isn't as scary because you recognize your strengths and how to best use them to benefit everyone; especially you.

GM: Describe your creative space and where you like to write...

JH: I write in an all purple office surrounded by bookshelves loaded with my favorite fiction and tons of writing craft books as well as books about teaching writing. I have taught creative writing and led writer wellness workshops online for twenty years.

GM: What are you currently reading?

JH: The Sparrows of Montenegro: A Novel, BJ Mayo

GM: What are you currently writing?

JH: I'm on the final round of edits for a young adult historical fantasy novel based on a legend about a mermaid in Charleston, South Carolina during Reconstruction. I'm also writing book two in a historical romance series set in Marietta, Ohio in 1800.

GM: Do you have advice for novice writers?

JH: My advice for novice writers is to keep a journal like your life depends on it. The life of a writer depends on writing so why not spend a few minutes a day jotting down your dreams, plans, upsets, anything really.

GM: List 10 things your fans may not know about you...

JH: 

1.I love St. Bernard dogs.

2.Purple, any shade, is my favorite color.

3.I love doing headstands in yoga.

4.I'm a cancer survivor.

5.I will eat pizza seven days a week.

6.I love cosplay.

7.I have a subscription box business just for writers and readers.

8.I became a writer after a career in ballet and choreography.

9.I've been teaching yoga for 46 years.

10.I love washi tape.

Connect with Joy…

https://www.joyeheld.com

https://www.joyeheld.substack.com

Bio:

Joy E. Held is a college educator and award-winning published author who knew at age ten she was going to be a writer. She has published a non-fiction book for writers, Writer Wellness: A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity (Headline Books, Inc. 2020,) a historical romance novel (The Wild Rose Press, 2010)  and almost 1000 articles in magazines, newspapers, and poetry journals in 25+ years as a professional writer. Her latest release is another historical romance novel from Boroughs Publishing Group. She is particularly charmed by the new world of “art journaling” and the old-but-new-again world of steampunk fiction. Her book reviews can be found in Foreword Magazine, Yoga Journal, Book Report Network, and other publications. She has published multiple articles as a contributing editor for Dancer Magazine and Dance Teacher Now Magazine. Her work can be found in Yoga Journal, Woman Engineer, and Romance Writers Report as well as local and regional publications in West Virginia. She has presented writing workshops for over ten years for Central Ohio Fiction Writers, West Virginia Writers, Inc., Kentucky, Ohio, & WV Romance Writers, Ohio Valley Literary Group, WV Developmental Education Association, Wood County Reading Association, and the West Virginia Writing Project among others. Before writing, however, her world revolves around two daughters, a fab husband, a wonderful son-in-love, an awesome grandson, and their pets. She is also a devoted student of meditation and hatha yoga. Her hobbies include herb gardening and learning to bake with spelt flour.

Getting an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA was one of the best decisions she ever made.

 

An Interview with Ohio Author & Historian Jacob L. Bapst

An Interview with Ohio Author and Historian Jacob L. Bapst

Writing of Ohio’s cultural history, Jacob L. Bapst has an extensive resume of researching, collecting and archiving facts. I had the great opportunity to meet Jacob at the 2022 Monday Creek Book Festival, Stuart’s Opera House, Nelsonville, Ohio. Here’s Jacob’s bio…

Jacob Lamar Bapst, the oldest of the six children of Jacob and Janet Bapst, was born in the Chillicothe (Ohio) Hospital on September 13, 1953. Two days later he was taken to the family home in Beaver (Pike), Ohio. Jake attended Beaver Elementary School and graduated from the Eastern(Pike) Local Schools in 1971. In the fall of 1971, Jake enrolled in Rio Grande College. In 1973, he married Joann Snyder, a native of Mansfield, Ohio, (a girl he met during a theater production at Rio Grande,) Jake and Josie graduated from Rio Grande College in 1975 and soon began their long careers in education. In 1983, their daughter Suzanna was born. Jake is retired from the University of Rio Grande/ Rio Grande Community College. Jake has also taught for Marshall University (he received his master’s degree there in 1989), Ohio University, and Morehead State. He also served as the Director of The Ohio Appalachian Center for Higher Education. Since 2016, he has served as the volunteer archivist/historian at the University of Rio Grande. He has co-authored four books with his close friend and colleague Ivan Tribe. Currently he is working on a new book and  preparing to celebrate his 50^th wedding anniversary. 

Welcome, Jacob!

GM: What books have you written?

JB: I have four -West Virginia's Traditional Country Music, The University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College, Beryl Halley: The Life and Follies of a Ziegfeld Beauty 1897 - 1988, and The Jamboree in Wheeling. I co-authored them with Ivan Tribe. Two are centered on music and musicians. The Rio Grande book is a history of the school. Beryl Halley was a Rio Grande student who became a member of the Ziegfeld Follies.

GM: As a writer, what do you find more difficult - research, content writing, or editing?

JB: I love the research aspect of writing. My content writing is difficult because I write in spurts. Editing is my least favorite aspect of the process - it reminds me of grading papers!

GM: When writing storylines and characters, how do you maintain thoughts and ideas?

JB: Almost all of my material is chronological in nature, so it is easy to maintain thoughts.

GM: What would you like readers to take away from your book?

JB:I want the reader to walk away with new information and wanting more.

GM: What are you currently writing?

JB: I began work on Rio Grande College between 1935 and 1955. That was the time when Rio had a farm, a self-help program much like Berea College, almost closed, lost its affiliation with the Baptist Church, and Bevo Francis became a college basketball legend, I am well into the research stage of the project and am plotting my approach.

GM: What are you currently reading?

JB: I am reading lots and lots of newspaper articles from the period of 1935-1955, and beside my computer is a copy of  Deciphering a Memory: Pontius Pilate.

GM: Who is your favorite author and genre?

JB: I absolutely love the works of Allan Eckert. I actually got to meet him and have about an hour long conversation!

GM: Do you have advice for novice writers?

JB: Write about things you are passionate about and let that passion grow!

GM: List 10 things your fans may not know about you...

JB: 1. I am a graduate of Rio Grande College and retired from the University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College.

2. I was the director of The Ohio Appalachian Center for Higher Education.

3. I was the head baseball coach and an assistant football coach at Kyger Creek High School for four years,

4. My wife is a retired teacher.

5. My daughter lives in New York City.

6. For the last seven years I have been the volunteer archivist and historian at Rio Grande.

7. In 1973, I turned down an offer to go to New York City and take a job as a stagehand on Broadway.

8. When I was in high school I worked as an aide to a geologist and turned down an offer to spend a summer in Antarctica,

9. I wanted to be a pilot.

10. I was a pretty good baseball player once upon a time.

Jacob's books are available from ArcadiaPublishing, McFarland Publishing, Amazon, and the Rio Grande Bookstore.

An Interview with Ohio Author Catherine Pomeroy

An Interview with Ohio Author Catherine Pomeroy

The author of two novels, The Gulch Jumpers and Four and a Half Billion People (No Bad Books Press), Catherine Pomeroy writes family-life fiction and thrilling scenarios that entertains and engages readers. Her debut novel, The Gulch Jumpers, “was an exercise in love – a love letter, really, to my “down on the farm” family roots, the power of music, what it means to be a parent, and my belief that law is personal. The story was also a fun way for me to indulge my sense of adventure, travel and the magic of a road trip.”

Welcome, Catherine!

GM: Happy New Year! What is your 2023 New Year's Resolution?

CP:  I’ve given this lots of thought! It’s certainly not a tough question, but I wanted to try to really reflect and answer honestly, for myself as well as for the blog.  The answer is to dig deep and connect with my “why.”  Why I make the choices I do in my personal and professional life. To connect writing and work to a greater purpose and use that as motivation.  In writing, finding the “why” seems linked to identifying the theme of one’s book. And for me, the theme is often not evident at the beginning or even mid-way in the writing process. So, in addition to finding the “why” I suppose my resolution is to keep going, keep trying, get up every day and work at it even while feeling lost, keeping some patience and hope that the “why” will surface and become apparent organically. On a much more mundane level, I also resolve to exercise, eat healthy, etc.  And, or course, to improve and strive to become a better writer.

GM: What is the premise for your new book?

CP:  Four and a Half Billion People, which was released in June of 2022, is a novel about a single mother in small-town southern Ohio grappling with the after effects when her neurodivergent teenage son is arrested for Vehicular Manslaughter. There are elements about the legal system and how juveniles are treated in that system. There are also some speculative elements. The book also includes a strong side story about bicycle touring, including the infamous Tour of the Scioto River Valley (TOSRV), a two hundred-two-day ride from Columbus to Portsmouth and back that takes place annually in Ohio.

GM: What are you currently writing?

CP:  My current WIP is about how a handful of neighbors in an isolated housing development in exurbia start interacting with each other after a solar flare knocks out electricity and satellites. While that is the premise, I want it to be more of a family and human relations story rather than a disaster story.

GM: How do you maintain thoughts and ideas for new manuscripts, etc.?

CP: Reflective time for imagination, but also forcing myself to sit down and start producing something. Getting anything down on paper is a start. One can always go back later and tinker.

GM: Who is your favorite author?

CP:  It’s tough to pick just one. Some of my favorite authors are Homer Hickam, Charles Frazier, Jodi Picoult, Elena Ferrante, and Elizabeth Strout. I recently discovered Kim Michele Richardson who wrote The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. I like anyone who writes well. I especially enjoy stories that are set in Appalachian regions.

GM: Do you have advice for novice writers and those looking to begin their first manuscript?

CP:  Start writing, and if you slip into your zone and a state of flow, keep going!  Later, when you go back to edit, email the document to yourself.  I do this because it allows me to read it on my phone in addition to on my laptop. I also print a hard copy. It’s surprising how many things you catch reading over a document in various formats.

GM: Authors say that writing is easy, but marketing is difficult. Do you have any advice for authors regarding marketing and promotion?

CP:  This is probably my greatest weakness. It is hard not to feel shameless about any self-promotion, but marketing is necessary to connect to readers. Word of mouth and appearing at author fairs and events has worked for me. Word of mouth has especially been helpful getting book clubs to take up my novels. If a reader reaches out with complimentary feedback, I know I should request them to write a review, but I struggle with overcoming my shyness to make that ask.

GM: When you're not writing, what do you like to do for fun?

CP:  I love cycling! I do solo rides and ride with a club when time allows. I set mileage goals for myself. I’ve been fortunate enough to see some beautiful places from my bicycle. I also enjoy going out to dinner and relaxing with a good book.

Catherine riding her bike

GM: List 10 things your fans may not know about you...

CP:

1. I grew up visiting my mother’s childhood home in Jackson County, Ohio, which is where Four and a Half Billion People is set. This was my grandparents’ farmhouse, and later the home of my aunt, who was also a writer.
2. I’m a child welfare lawyer. My books incorporate quotes from Supreme Court cases.
3. My inner geek loves the maps and historical information posted at highway rest stops.
4. When I was a teenager, I twice completed the two-day two-hundred-mile bicycle tour (TOSRV) described in Four and a Half Billion People. I also biked from Cleveland to Mammoth Cave Kentucky and back when I was seventeen years old. The year I turned fifty, I biked from Washington D.C. to Pittsburgh.
5. Need to come up with a big idea as “sixty” approaches!
6. Sometimes I go to hunt for a specific book or author, but I also really enjoy free form browsing at the library. There’s no cost to borrowing a library book so giving something unusual a try is literally a no-risk/no-guilt treat.
7. During the pandemic, with my grown children living out-of-state, and other relatives equally as far flung, I started a private Facebook group where we can all post pictures of what we are making for Sunday dinner. Not everyone participates, and it’s a bit of a friendly competition, but a nice way to stay in touch.
8. Sometimes I go months at a time without writing, and then get back into it.\
9. I love music – live concerts, listening in my car, playing the violin. Researching various genres, artists and musical history for my first novel, The Gulch Jumpers, was enjoyable.
10.  Donuts? Oh, yes. Yes, yes.

Connect with Catherine:

Email: catherinepomeroyauthor@gmail.com

Website: catherinepomeroy.com

Facebook: catpomeroyauthor

Twitter: catpomeroy

Insta:  catpomeroyishere

Purchase Catherine’s titles at www.nobadbookspress.com or on Amazon and other bookselling platforms.

 

An Interview with Ohio Author Carl Nelson

 

An Interview with Ohio Author Carl Nelson

A playwright, director, poet, and more, Ohio Author Carl Nelson knows his way around the creative community. He has had “poems nominated three times for the Pushcart Prize. Grinding his ax writing essays seems to keep him from ruining his poetry. His poems, stories, and essays have been published in such journals as the New English Review, Poetry Salzburg Review, Orbis, Atlanta Review, and the Lake. He spent twenty years in the Seattle theater community, during which time he wrote and produced plays, directed others, and performed whenever the talent was missing but a body still needed. Before that, he did stand-up comedy. Now he lives in Belpre, Ohio, where he moseys about and is the publisher and managing editor of Magic Bean Books.”

 

Welcome, Carl!

GM: Carl, it was super nice to meet you at our recent book festival. Happy New Year! What is your New Year Resolution?

CN:  I would suppose it would be to continue my balance and strength exercises I began late this past year. I don't like taking those tumbles... embarrassing.

GM: Take us through a day in your life as a writer...

CN:  To backtrack just a bit, one of my resolutions has been to try and reverse my day's schedule so that I start writing first, while I'm most fresh. But I do like to read with my coffee first thing morning time.  So I walk out to my garage studio with my dachshund Tater after the morning's rituals and begin. I try to have both serious non-fiction and fun fiction on tap and try to alternate. I usually try to read whatever a friend has just published and purchase it new. At one time I tried a sensory deprivation chamber to see if my inner demons would swarm me. No. I just became very bored. And I realized that much of my thinking comes from ideas I have poured in and stirred. This bolstered the notion that reading a lot is important to one's writing. For example, it takes an enormous amount of information to craft a good metaphor. A good metaphor sits at a crossroads with a lot of information passing every which way. And Art is basically metaphors. But to continue, I am a bit OCD in my conscientiousness, so that next I check e mails and then do Facebook. Links are my current way of ferreting out the reliable and interesting new source material. And Facebook reply threads are a bit like playwriting... plus show and tell, so it's fun.  One of the reasons I haven't had much success at reversing my daily schedule is that it is a rule of my writing to go where it's fun. By the time of day I've done all the aforementioned, I usually have developed a pressing need to save and implement many of my thoughts so that the writing usually begins there. And my writing is usually a matter of saving what's alive and fun to read, and put them all together like a quilt.  I haven't a gift for narrative but my view is that a writer is in the main a real estate agent. The reader wants to live somewhere better, which exists ironically where they currently are.  The writer lets them use the key box and have a look around.   So, if they like where they find themselves then there they are! After all this I walk my dog, eat dinner and usually watch TV, as I'm too tired for much else. (I'm 73). The next day is much the same.  I really haven't much urge to travel or hike or fish or hunt or watch sports. Yardwork and home repairs are good for me. I swim at Camden Pool 3x/week.

GM: When you're not writing, what do you do for fun?

CN:  I've always liked to wander. Woody Guthrie and Johnny Appleseed were my heroes. I used to just take off hitchhiking and be gone for months. So when I'm not writing I usually chat and snoop and get interested in whoever I bump up next to. I like to visit odd venues, at times. I love country and bluegrass music.

GM: What is the premise of your most recent book?

CN:  The latest book I've published is titled "Become Remarkable" and is about Appalachia where I live. It's an interlarded mix of essays and poetry. This poem sort of explains it:

Become Remarkable

Live alone long enough

and you become fascinating.

What is this glamour composed of?

I don’t know, but it slowly accrues.

Like hair and nails growing,

it slowly becomes remarkable.

Ordinary, then remarkable

that anyone could do it.

Become remarkable, that is.

Inch by inch, bit by bit, day by day,

drawing our notice

and then our attention

and finally our fascination.

To gain a following…

hermits, mystics, monks

all have this frightening pull.

Consider the withered legend,

in layered coats with walking stick,

who would tread the five miles

into Ripley, West Virginia

and back

followed by her two dogs

and three cats.

GM: Do you base characters on family, friends, etc., or do you create your own character profiles?

CN:  I base characters on whoever I've found interesting. They usually morph a bit, and when the story needs a personality it will often supply its own... which is a wonderful thing to happen. I've always loved when a conversation will pull something in from out of the air. For example, I once drove a bus part-time. One afternoon this woman got on and said, "You look very tired. You must work very hard. How many hours a day do you work?" "Well," I said, a bit embarrassed, "I only work three and a half hours a day."  To lighten the cognitive tension, I added:  "If I work longer than that I get these terrible rashes."  "Oh!" She said, touching my shoulder. "My aunt had that."

GM: Are you currently writing anything new?  

CN: I am published regularly in the New English Review. So I usually have a new essay/poem mix being worked up for submission at a later date. I'm also trying to assemble another book of poetry as I have about 600 of them littering the office like bird droppings, presently.

GM: Does the current political climate impact your writing career and/or characters?

CN:  I stopped including any Black characters in my fiction writing years ago. (I'm white.) I did this once and was roundly criticized for hurtful stereotyping. It was plain that I'd have to give up any agency I had in writing most ethnic characters, so I don't go there. You might cast the character I've written as black, say, in a play - but I'm not going to define them so. We also are in such an astonishing moment in our nation's history, that it is really hard to pull oneself away from the day to day news and concentrate on one's own work.

GM: List 10 things your fans may not know about you...

CN: 

1. I'm very tall: 6'8"
2. Married late.
3. Have an adopted Thai son.
4. Have an MD degree never used.
5. Would love to write and sing country songs.
6. Was raised surrounded by engineers.
7. Have a cousin whose son became a billionaire while still living at home.
8. My Uncle used to tutor the Kennedy's for $3.00/hour
9. My mom couldn't read until the eighth grade when it suddenly became clear to her. And then she went on to teach language arts at Continuation H. S.
10. My family homesteaded a farm in the Columbia Basin in the 1950s

Connect with Carl…

https://magicbeanbooks.co/

Amazon Author Page

 

Carl with his dog Tater Tot

 

An Interview with Ohio Poet Stephanie Kendrick

Stephanie Kendrick, Athens County Ohio 2023 Poet Laureate

 

An Interview with Ohio Poet Stephanie Kendrick

Sincere congratulations to Stephanie Kendrick for being selected as the 2023 Athens County Ohio Poet Laureate! Her poetry is recommended reading. 

Welcome, Stephanie!

GM: Congratulations on your new role as Athens County Ohio Poet Laureate! What are your plans as Poet Laureate to promote poetry in 2023?

SK: Thank you Gina! I am so excited for this opportunity. I have been promoting poets for years now since I started a virtual open mic in 2020 that ran through the first half of 2022. I started this open mic with Kari Gunter-Seymour (our very own Ohio State Poet Laureate) and it was a very successful journey. We featured poets from all over the world, including a poet from New Zealand! Using the Poet Laureate platform, I will continue this venture by hosting a monthly open mic here in Athens County. I have partnered with Ellie, the owner of Athens Uncorked. Starting March 8th, community members of all ages can join us at Uncorked every 2^nd Wednesday of the month to share poetry, music and stories at 6:30pm. I will also continue publication of my free print newsletter Periodical Poetry. Issue 8 is currently in circulation (as of 1/5/2023) and if you haven’t picked up a copy around town, you can visit stephthepoet.org to read it digitally. Of course there are so many more poetry projects I have up my sleeve. I have spoken with the chair of the Albany Harvest Festival and plan to have a pop-up poetry tent there for children, and hope to conduct a pawpaw themed poetry workshop at the 2023 Pawpaw Festival. I am really excited to see what other opportunities open up this year. I’m ready to spread poetry all over the place.

GM: We are excited to support you in your endeavors! Can you share a poem from your newest poetry collection?

SK: Of course...

Closed Road Ahead

The road is crumbling in the center

of town, promises of a sinkhole

elate the children, propel them

to chatter of the center of Earth,

mysteries that widen their eyes—

tiny, globed galaxies lightyears away.

They have always been warned

stars sting to the touch, all we are

was already in space anyway. So

they race to the center of town

and dance

in the soup-bowl asphalt, hungry

for everything in the whole world

to prove to everyone else

that even down here

is just as empty,

and just as vast.

GM: Beautiful! Thank you for sharing. At what age did you begin writing poetry?

SK: Honestly, I don’t really know. I’ve been writing compulsively since I was a little girl—6 or 7. I can remember the first time I entered a library. I was 5—a kindergartner at Symmes Valley Elementary school. I’m sure it’s smaller than I remember but I just froze in time and looked around at what seems like (in my memory) a Beauty and the Beast castle-caliber library. I couldn’t read enough of Amelia Bedelia and Pippi Longstocking, but also could not wait to venture over to the adult section and get my hands on those too. It was truly love at first sight. It was the closest experience to finding a soulmate that I think I have ever had. Poetry became an extension of the impulse to write as a coping tool. My childhood and adolescent years were not easy and calm. Writing was a processing tool and a way to step into alternative worlds for a bit—and it still plays that role for me. I always kept several journals and wrote the occasional love poem or angst-fueled poem along with recounting my inner thoughts, writing short one-woman plays that I would act in my bedroom, and embarrassing song lyrics. In 2014, after a particularly challenging period in my life, I began writing poetry more seriously. Some pieces were published in Ohio University’s literary magazine, and I went on to submit to the Women of Appalachia Project where I met Kari-Gunter Seymour, and then joined some serious writer’s workshops. The rest has just been a whirlwind.

GM: Who is your favorite poet?

SK: Oh gosh what a question. I will give you names, but first I have to say this is impossible. It truly depends on what mood I’m in—what I NEED from the poetry. Just like sometimes my favorite band is Sleater Kinney and sometimes it’s Regina Spektor and sometimes it’s Jason Isbell. If we’re asking which poet is my “The Beatles”…I guess I would say Margaret Atwood. I often come back to her as a favorite author in general because she really opened me up to what the various genres have capacity to do. My husband gifted me Dearly recently and I drank it up. I love how direct Atwood’s poetry is…like she’s not playing any games but she still hides enough from you to make sure that you have a little fun. Lately, I’ve been intent on learning about my place and responsibility in society as a white woman and have appreciated the work done by Claudia Rankine, a phenomenal poet, that’s helping me understand more and more. And I cannot go without mentioning Morgan Parker as a poet who just empowers me to the core, but has also put in the work to educate through her poetry.

GM: What are you currently writing?

SK: I am in a group that challenges its members to post a poem a day, and I have found that I am fixated on the same topics that I have been fixated on for the last four years: my mother and my community—both muses in their own ways. After reading a wonderfully easy suburban-horror novel this fall, I’ve also been working on a short horror piece. This will be the first time I’ve ventured toward fiction since undergrad. I wasn’t very good at it then, but I’m having fun.

GM: I've been to poetry groups where they rewrite poetry (and I leave the group right away as I believe poetry should be original and intellectual property is just that). What are your thoughts about rewriting other people's poems?

SK: Interesting. I haven’t thought about this before. My immediate thought is this: as an exercise it’s fine. If you’re doing it with the intention to publish in any format, I find it problematic. But if you’re rewriting to hone your own craft or have some fun, fine. I also think that the owner of the work should know that it’s being done. I would not be interested in doing this, with what little I know of the practice.

GM: How do you maintain thoughts and ideas for future poems?

SK: As soon as an idea pops in my head I must get it on paper immediately. My brain won’t hold onto those things long. I’ve written some poems completely in my head (like Transcendence from In Any of These Towns) because I will be driving and think of a line that I can’t write down. So I have to repeat it over and over in my head. Then I add another line but must repeat those lines in my head, so I don’t lose them. Fifteen miles later I have a poem in my head that I need to get on paper as soon as the car stops. This has manifested in my having random notebooks all over my home, or random texts that I have sent to myself with a line of so of nonsense. This isn’t the best method of organization but it’s kind of nice to find one of these notebooks after a few months and have a fresh perspective on an old thought.

GM: When you're not writing poetry, what do you like to do for fun?

SK: Well, I’m NOT writing poetry most of the time, so I do need plenty of activities to take up that time. I love to spend time with my husband and our son. We hike often, see movies, and travel. I train jiu-jitsu at One Academy and I’m involved with a lot of local organizations. Public service is a passion of mine. And sometimes I just need some down-time on my couch. I love a good Real Housewives binge-session.

GM: List 10 things your fans may not know about you...

SK:

1. I edit and publish a print newsletter called Periodical Poetry. that is distributed around Athens and digitally. It’s completely free.
2.   I am a Councilwoman for the Village of Albany.
3.   I serve on the Friends of Athens CASA/GAL Board, and the Native Foods Education Organization Board.
4.   I am on the Pawpaw Fest Committee as the Admissions/Front Gate/Sponsorship Coordinator.
5.   I have a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
6.   I completed a Master of Social Sciences at Ohio University during the pandemic.
7.   I work at the Athens County Board of Developmental Disabilities as the Major Unusual Incident Compliance Coordinator (it’s the longest title I have ever had.)
8.   I have 14 tattoos.
9.   I play the clarinet and have been lazily trying to learn acoustic guitar.
10.    I love to collect pottery.

Connect with Stephanie:

Purchase Stephanie’s book: https://sheilanagigblog.com/sheila-na-gig-editions-quick-shopping/stephanie-kendrick/

Website: stephthepoet.org

Athens Poet Laureate Facebook Page: facebook.com/athenspoetlaureate