“Still Cautious,” “To Clarify,” and “Autonomous Zone” by Joan Mazza appeared in Issue 31 and can be found here.
We’d love to hear more about your writing process in these poems.
I’ve been writing poetry since 1998 and writing a-poem-a-day for nearly ten years. I write the poem between 5 and 7 AM and send it by email to a list of friends and other poets who asked to receive these raw drafts. Generally, I write what’s immediately in foreground, so I’ve written many pandemic-flavored poems since February 2020, when I first realized this virus could be a problem. I work on a draft, then immediately revise for diction, rhythm, images, sound, and bemoan the dearth of metaphors in my first drafts. In this long hiatus of pandemic isolation, I’ve discovered how much of an introvert I really am, and how solitude and silence are gifts to my creativity.
What was the most difficult part in writing this set?
I don’t recall any difficulty with these poems. They started out as daily poems and were minimally revised, as described above. Occasionally, a poem will go through many revisions, such as when they contain material that is emotionally complex or unresolved.
Recommend a book for us which was published within the last decade.
Euphoria by Lily King. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett. Field Study by Chet’la Sebree
If you could have a drink with any living author, who would it be? Why?
I’d love to talk to Ann Patchett about her writing process, especially about how she develops characters and plot. I’m a big fan and have ordered five of her books to reread since I originally took them out of the library. When I reread, I’m reading as a writer, so I have lots of questions to ask her. She answers fan mail!
What are you working on now? What’s next?
I working on poems, poems, poems. Also working on short memoir pieces, extracted from a long memoir (433 pages) that’s unpublishable as is. I submit on a regular basis. Friday I sent out thirty-three poems, fifteen more on Saturday. I was about to give up submitting to Sequestrum when you accepted three poems. I am tenacious, and I continue to take poetry classes, read craft books, and experiment with form and style.
Our thanks to Joan for taking the time to answer a few questions and share these poems. Read “Still Cautious,” “To Clarify,” and “Autonomous Zone” here: https://www.sequestrum.org/new-poetry-by-joan-mazza.
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Joan Mazza has worked as a medical microbiologist, psychotherapist, and taught workshops on understanding dreams and nightmares. She is the author of six books, including Dreaming Your Real Self, and her poetry has appeared in Valparaiso Poetry Review, Prairie Schooner, Adanna Literary Journal, Poet Lore, and The Nation. She lives in rural central Virginia, where she is self-isolating and writing a poem every day. www.JoanMazza.com