In The Field: Conversations With Our Contributors—Jenifer Browne Lawrence
Your poem from Volume 26, “Reading Alone in a Square Room,” is a tightly-crafted, highly imagistic piece that leaves readers feeling refreshed. What was the inspiration behind this poem? This poem began with riffing off of the first line of John Donne’s poem, “The...
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In The Field: Conversations With Our Contributors—Jey Ley
“Relume” is a beautiful poem that blends this idea of fireflies and relationships. Where did this idea stem from? Inspiration for the poem came from Dictee by Theresa Hak Kyung Cha. I first learned about the author and book four years ago from the Overlooked No More...
In The Field: Conversations With Our Contributors—L. A. Johnson
Your two poems, “Pine Needles Fall on a Green Snow” and “Asymmetry” appear in Volume 28. Both poems feature father figures and colorful imagery. What inspired these poems? My father died suddenly in 2019. It was a shock to me as a person and to my writing practice. I...
In The Field: Conversations With Our Contributors—Amy Roa
“Red Pine” is a beautifully creative poem in Volume 28 that details the melding of trees and octopus. Where did the inspiration for this poem come from? I wrote “Red Pine” during my time at the Bread Loaf Environmental Writers’ Workshop. We were given an assignment...
In The Field: Conversations With Our Contributors—Anna Molenaar
“Transportation Fantasy” in Volume 28 holds such an imaginative liveliness. Where and how did the idea for this nonfiction first spring to life? My first car was a thrice-owned glorious clunker of a Suburban named Scrungus. I loved that car, and her quirks and...
In The Field: Conversations With Our Contributors—David Thoreen
“Departures” is the final poem in V. 28 of Water~Stone and focuses on a memory of an uncle’s death. When did you begin to write this poem? I’d like to think I began writing this poem when I was thirteen years old and sifting through totems taken from my father’s...
In The Field: Conversations With Our Contributors—Bryan Price
Where did the first spark of inspiration for ”Unidentified flying object” come from? It’s hard to say now, but I think it has a lot to do with politics and history. I think it has to do with being disappointed with this country’s present and the future of this...
In The Field: Conversations With Our Contributors—Ty Chapman
You have two poems in Volume 28: ”They Tried to Bury the Neighborhood” and “My Middle Name is Christian,” both of which deal with colonialism and white-perpetuated violence, but in different ways. Where and when did the spark for these poems come from? As to where the...
In The Field: Conversations With Our Contributors—Suqi Karen Sims
Your fiction piece, “Fungirl,” takes the idea of mycelium network and puts it in a child-shaped body, telling the story of a chef who uses those mushrooms from this creature to create dishes. This work is both beautifully written and disconcerting to read. What...