In The Field: Conversations With Our Contributors—Michaela Chairez
Your poem, “On the Eucalyptus Trail” starts off with the powerful sentences, “I tell my friend the city is a whitewashed tomb.” What was the inspiration for this piece? The inspiration behind this piece is based on my hometown. I have a love/hate relationship with the...
Older Posts:
In The Field: Conversations With Our Contributors—Lisa Higgs
Your two poems, “About Nothing” and “Pandemic Dreams” are beautifully-worked pieces. Where sparked the creation of these pieces? As one might imagine with “Pandemic Dreams,” I wrote this poem at some point during the lockdowns or soon thereafter. I don’t think I was...
In The Field: Conversations With Our Contributors—Bill Marsh
In your piece "Water Striders," you emphasize the steps involved "in learning, once again, how to love." Where did the idea for this piece come from? I wrote the first draft in early 2021, deep into COVID, when life was unstable on many levels. At the time my wife and...
In The Field: Conversations With Our Contributors—Jonathan Wittmaier
"Terrarium" really reflects the chaos of the family cooped up during a summer COVID lockdown. What prompted you to write this story? Being cooped up myself during that initial COVID lockdown is what prompted me to write this particular story. At the time, I was living...
In The Field: Conversations With Our Contributors—Todne Thomas
Your poem, “day of the dead,” tells a story within a multi-generational family structure. Where did the inspiration for this piece come from? The inspiration for this poem came from my son. His grandfather died the year before he was born. One day in our...
In The Field: Conversations With Our Contributors—Sheila McMullin
Your poem “Thank You” blends the telling of past histories and the present conflict in a relationship, as well as imaginative statements. What was your inspiration for this poem? What was your process for blending history and imagination? “Thank You” comes from...
In The Field: Conversations With Our Contributors—Judy Kaber
Your poem that appears in Volume 27, “Cracking the Lid,” is after Lois Dodd’s painting “Lifting the Lid.” What drew you to that painting, and what sparked this piece from it? Do you often find inspiration from art? I love Lois Dodd’s work and often write ekphrastic...
In The Field: Conversations With Our Contributors—Marc Nieson
Your story “American Standards” involves a man balancing his daily corporate job, his aging mother, and his newish relationship. What sparked the creation of this story? Aptly, this story’s ‘spark’ began in a public bathroom when I took note of the...
In The Field: Conversations With Our Contributors—G C Waldrep
Your poems, "Night 410" and "Night 550" are from a work titled Plague Nights. What does Plague Nights entail? As with every other writer and artist I know, the lockdowns of the pandemic (spring, summer, and fall of 2020 especially) left me with time and anxious...