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Re: Questions for Joyce Sidman
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From: Joyce Sidman <joyce.sidman_at_gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 24 Apr 2014 09:53:39 -0500
Many, many thanks for including me and my books in this Poetry Month discussion. I joined this CCBC listserv many years ago, and have always enjoyed the lively, intelligent commentary. The fact that my own work is being discussed is sort of a "pinch me" moment for me! Helen Frost raised many interesting points, and I will do my best to be as clear and considered as she was.
To answer questions:
Miriam asked: "I'm a huge admirer of Ms. Sidman's themed poetry collections, particularly UBIQUITOUS and DARK EMPEROR OF THE NIGHT. I'm wondering something about her writing process. Does she purposely write poems on certain themes or does she amass a quantity of poems and then think, "Oh! I could make a book out of these." In other words, which comes first--the poetry or the concept of the collection?"
Great question! In the case of UBIQUITOUS and DARK EMPEROR--and, indeed, most of my books--the concept comes first, in the form of a question that I'm asking myself: something that I've noticed, or I'm wondering about, or fascinated by. UBIQUITOUS began with a remark by my entomologist sister about how "successful" beetles are (thousands of extant species) because of their hardened forewings. This led me to wonder why some groups/species are successful and others aren't, which led me to seek out "survivor" species, which led me to write poems about the amazing ways they survive and thrive. DARK EMPEROR began with my fascination/fear of darkness, and also a wish to portray the secret lives of woodland creatures.
Sometimes, though, the poems will come first, which leads me to Crystal's question: "I'm curious as to how the book [WHAT THE HEART KNOWS] came to be. Were there poems and chants that you already had written & then you noticed that they had a theme or was it a plan the whole time to have a few of each for the four different sections?"
Also a wonderful question. WHAT THE HEART KNOWS began differently than most, took a long time to write, and remains a mystery to me in many ways. First of all, there was no plan. I've always loved chants, especially those of First Nation oral tradition. I loved the power in them, that was both public (chanted together) and private (expressing a private wish). I wrote the poem "Chant Against the Dark" on a day in 2008 when I really needed it
(can't remember why) . . . I think that was the first of the book. Other poems popped out at various times, but I wasn't really sure what I was doing. With any book, there is a tipping point. You gather up the poems you have written and wonder, Is there enough weight here to keep going? I asked myself that question many times with this book, and was not able to see my way. Fortunately, my editor Ann Rider loved the idea of these poems, and kept encouraging me, saying that she saw the project as "a slim book of prayers you could carry around and pull out when you need it." Somehow her description allowed me to move forward and keep writing. The structure of the book--the four sections--arose organically after I'd written the bulk of the poems. They seemed to sort themselves into piles.
Hope this answers these questions, and looking forward to more!
Joyce
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Received on Thu 24 Apr 2014 09:54:49 AM CDT
Date: Thu, 24 Apr 2014 09:53:39 -0500
Many, many thanks for including me and my books in this Poetry Month discussion. I joined this CCBC listserv many years ago, and have always enjoyed the lively, intelligent commentary. The fact that my own work is being discussed is sort of a "pinch me" moment for me! Helen Frost raised many interesting points, and I will do my best to be as clear and considered as she was.
To answer questions:
Miriam asked: "I'm a huge admirer of Ms. Sidman's themed poetry collections, particularly UBIQUITOUS and DARK EMPEROR OF THE NIGHT. I'm wondering something about her writing process. Does she purposely write poems on certain themes or does she amass a quantity of poems and then think, "Oh! I could make a book out of these." In other words, which comes first--the poetry or the concept of the collection?"
Great question! In the case of UBIQUITOUS and DARK EMPEROR--and, indeed, most of my books--the concept comes first, in the form of a question that I'm asking myself: something that I've noticed, or I'm wondering about, or fascinated by. UBIQUITOUS began with a remark by my entomologist sister about how "successful" beetles are (thousands of extant species) because of their hardened forewings. This led me to wonder why some groups/species are successful and others aren't, which led me to seek out "survivor" species, which led me to write poems about the amazing ways they survive and thrive. DARK EMPEROR began with my fascination/fear of darkness, and also a wish to portray the secret lives of woodland creatures.
Sometimes, though, the poems will come first, which leads me to Crystal's question: "I'm curious as to how the book [WHAT THE HEART KNOWS] came to be. Were there poems and chants that you already had written & then you noticed that they had a theme or was it a plan the whole time to have a few of each for the four different sections?"
Also a wonderful question. WHAT THE HEART KNOWS began differently than most, took a long time to write, and remains a mystery to me in many ways. First of all, there was no plan. I've always loved chants, especially those of First Nation oral tradition. I loved the power in them, that was both public (chanted together) and private (expressing a private wish). I wrote the poem "Chant Against the Dark" on a day in 2008 when I really needed it
(can't remember why) . . . I think that was the first of the book. Other poems popped out at various times, but I wasn't really sure what I was doing. With any book, there is a tipping point. You gather up the poems you have written and wonder, Is there enough weight here to keep going? I asked myself that question many times with this book, and was not able to see my way. Fortunately, my editor Ann Rider loved the idea of these poems, and kept encouraging me, saying that she saw the project as "a slim book of prayers you could carry around and pull out when you need it." Somehow her description allowed me to move forward and keep writing. The structure of the book--the four sections--arose organically after I'd written the bulk of the poems. They seemed to sort themselves into piles.
Hope this answers these questions, and looking forward to more!
Joyce
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Received on Thu 24 Apr 2014 09:54:49 AM CDT
