“The Heart—in the Woods Behind my Father’s House,” “We’re All Writing Lake Poems Now,” and “OCD Sonnet #3” by Zachariah Claypole White appeared in Issue 40 and can be found here.
We’d love to hear more about this set of poetry.
“The Heart—in the Woods Behind my Father’s House” came out of a writing exercise from R.A. Villanueva. The prompt was to begin and end a piece with a line taken from someone else’s work. I used “The heart dies of this sweetness” from Brigit Pegeen Kelly’s “Song.” The line was removed in revision but by interrogating the tonality and voice of Pegeen Kelly’s speaker, I was able to understand my own.
“OCD Sonnet #3” is part of a series. I wanted to juxtapose the structural rigidity of a sonnet with stream of consciousness narration, a conversational tone, and multiple voltas. The series uses this contrast to explore an often unremarked upon dichotomy of OCD: the need for certainty and control versus the pressures of racing thoughts and ever-shifting anxieties.
“We’re All Writing Lake Poems Now” came into the world title first. During the summer of 2022, some friends and I spent a few days writing at a lake house. Of course, everyone starting referencing the lake in their work. Originally the title was somewhat of a joke, but it led me to think about love between friends.
What was the most difficult part of these?
From the first draft, “OCD Sonnet #3” and “We’re All Writing Lake Poems Now” had a very strong sense of themselves. They still went through multiple revisions (as all my poems do), but their architecture was clear from the beginning. It took more excavating to find the exact shape of “The Heart—in the Woods Behind my Father’s House.” I don’t think the poem and I began to understand each other until the eighth draft.
Recommend a book for us which was published within the last decade.
The Octopus Museum by Brenda Shaughnessy is a wonderful kaleidoscope of a book. I will always admire Shaughnessy’s ability to play with form and how she integrates speculative elements into her verse.
If you could have a drink with any living author, who would it be? Why?
I don’t think he drinks anymore, but Stephen King. His writing holds such a special place in my heart and my own history as a writer. Since childhood, he’s been one of my favorite authors and I blame his collection Night Shift for my incessant desire to read every strange and creepy collection of short fiction I can get my hands on.
What are you working on now? What’s next?
Speaking of creepy, I’m working on several short horror stories. I also recently completed a manuscript of poetry which includes the full series of OCD sonnets, as well as a second series of poems that center on a supernatural figured called “the Angel.” Overall, the manuscript explores grief, loss, and mental illness.
Our thanks to Zachariah for taking the time to answer a few questions and share this story. Read “The Heart—in the Woods Behind my Father’s House” “We’re All Writing Lake Poems Now,” and “OCD Sonnet #3” here: https://www.sequestrum.org/three-new-poems-by-zachariah-claypole-white.
___________________________________
Zachariah Claypole White is a Philadelphia-based writer and educator, originally from North Carolina. He holds a BA from Oberlin College and an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College. His poetry and prose have appeared in, or are forthcoming from, Cleaver Magazine, Bourbon Penn, The Maine Review, and The Hong Kong Review, amongst others. Zachariah has received support from the Kenyon Review Writers Workshop and his awards include Flying South’s 2021 Best in Category for poetry as well as nominations for a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. Zachariah teaches at the Community College of Philadelphia and the Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College.