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—Christopher Citro
Your poem, "Why Our Bathtub Sparkles," is about a couple preparing to have guests over—but deeper than that, about connection and community in a shifting world. What inspired this poem? Thank you for this opportunity to respond to your questions and for your reading...
In The Field: Conversations With Our Contributors—Steve Castro
You have two poems in Volume 28 of Water~Stone, “Postcard from the Central American Town I grew up in before I learned to speak English,” and “Most likely an imperative from a Confederate soldier’s descendant.” How did these poems come about? Long titles, huh? “Most...
In The Field: Conversations With Our Contributors—Victoria Blanco
I love the storytelling in your nonfiction piece "Corn-Yellow Light." You did a lot of research for this piece. How did you sift through everything to create a narrative? What was the process like to piece together your research into something that flowed? I sifted...
In The Field: Conversations With Our Contributors—Alice Paige
What inspired your poem, “An Untitled Hunt?” Where did you draw the title from? This poem is centered around the miracle of survival and the expectation of violence and death to be visited upon the creature deemed huntable. The “untitled” aspect of this poem looks to...
In The Field: Conversations With Our Contributors—Cheryl Clark Vermeulen
What inspired your poem, "Patriarch"? Thank you for your astute questions about my poem! It is lovely to have great listeners. My inspiration for “Patriarch” was very much influenced by work meetings, whether corporate, academic, or otherwise organizational,...
In The Field: Conversations With Our Contributors—Josh Nicolaisen
Your piece, "Sometimes I Walk Barefoot Through Freshly Tilled Soil," wraps up Volume 27. Where did the inspiration for this piece come from? Yes, and thank you so much for such a prized spot in the journal. I was truly awed and honored when my copy arrived. I...
In The Field: Conversations With Our Contributors—Abie Irabor
In your poem, "Movie Star," you create a spotlight of excitement surrounding a parent coming home. What sparked this poem's creation and the comparison of the homecoming to a celebrity? This poem's creation originated from a short story I wrote back in Graduate...
In The Field: Conversations With Our Contributors—Jennifer Bowen
There are so many facets of your nonfiction piece "Just the Song." Where did the spark for this piece come from? The pressure to write it came while watching my kid perform in Cabaret on the day of Donald Trump’s first inauguration. It was haunting to watch my son’s...