Thursday, December 17, 2015

Brief Interview with Zoe Polach

Zoe Polach’s poem “The Tulip Poplar” appears in the Fall/Winter 2015 issue of Poet Lore, the poetry publication of The Writer’s Center. Polach’s poetry has appeared in [PANK] and RHINO. Editorial assistant Emily Tuttle recently emailed Polach with questions about the decisions that shaped her narrative poem.






ET: Amazing descriptions of nature are effortlessly woven into your poem “The Tulip Poplar.” Is nature imagery a common theme in your work? Do you have a particular subject you consistently enjoy writing about?

ZP: I do write about landscapes a lot, but this poem in particular comes kind of circuitously out of some academic work I had been doing. At school that spring, I had been doing some research projects on nature in early medieval English culture, where the lines between what we now might categorize as art, religious devotion, and scientific observation were drawn very differently. And that was in Chicago, which, for someone who had previously been in the Mid-Atlantic all her life, was almost alarmingly flat and square. So there were these two unfamiliar landscapes I was trying to wrap my head around.

And then I came home and—I had learned all of these things in school about the historical and sociological and economic construction of the American suburb, and it was actually not something I thought I wanted to write about—but the storm hit and I was just bowled over, both by the sheer physical force of it and the depth of my emotional response. This place felt more real to me than any other place. And I realized the material reality of the landscape was inscribed in my memory, in my body, in ways I hadn't understood.

ET: Your prose-like language helps the poem read in a distinct narrative style. What do you think your piece is able to accomplish as a poem that it wouldn’t as a prose piece?

ZP: This is a really interesting question for me because I spent a long time smooshing the beginning around between different styles and genres without getting anywhere. I even tried prose, briefly. Part of the problem was that I hadn't written a line like this before—the other work I was writing was very compressed, your more typical lyric, and I knew this poem needed to move differently.

As I went through more and more drafts I started to think of what I wanted as “a walking pace,” the way your thoughts roll along after you've been walking for a long time. You think about one thing for a while, and then go around a bend—either physically or mentally—and there's a complete break in your train of thought, but it feels smooth because you're still on the same path.

I dug up some earlier drafts of the poem to help me answer these questions, and looking back, I'd actually forgotten how many of the digressions I'd had to cut and rewrite, sometimes multiple times, to try to get that effect. I was lucky to be guided in that by a lot of good advice from my writing workshop and my thesis advisor, Chicu Reddy.

ET: When reading your poem, one thing that stood one to me was the other characters in the piece being given letters rather than names. What was your inspiration for doing this, and how do you think it adds to the reading of the poem?

ZP: It was really an ad-hoc practical solution. Once you get more than a couple characters on stage at a time, clarity starts to become a problem. Initials provide that, but they also draw an air of privacy around the proceedings, as though the poem could be an excerpt from a diary or a letter. It's not a choice I've made elsewhere, but it worked in this case.

ET: For local Marylanders, many of us remember the hurricane that sets the scene for your piece, yet it is described with such vivid detail—did you start this piece in 2012 when it happened, or is the piece done all from memory?

ZP: I started working on this late in the fall of 2012, I think, but I didn't finish it until the next spring. Actually, my memory of the derecho was so strong that it proved to be a little bit of a liability when editing time came around. People kept telling me I had to cut down the beginning, where I described the storm coming in, and I kept not doing it, because it seemed so important to describe what that feeling of foreboding was like, exactly, even if I hadn't built up any momentum yet. Well, they were right. But I wish I'd written another poem about that.

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You can follow Zoe Polach's work starting next week on the Theatre Prometheus blog, where she'll be giving an ongoing insider look on her role as dramaturg in the company's all-female production of Macbeth, opening April 2016.

For more information on the current issue of Poet Lore, visit: http://poetlore.com/current-issue/


Emily Tuttle is a senior English major with a double minor in creative writing and neuroscience at the University of Maryland College Park. She has interned with Poet Lore for one year, and currently serves as the editor-in-chief for the University's critical and creative journals, Paper Shell Review and Stylus

Friday, December 11, 2015

Spotlight on Literary Events: Dec. 10-20



11th Hour Poetry Slam
Saturday, December 11th from 11 pm to 1 am
Busboys and Poets (14th & V location)
2021 14th St, NW
Washington, D.C. 20009

The 11th Hour Poetry Slam offers an opportunity for poetry lovers to enjoy the competitive art of late-night performance poetry! Enjoy two rounds of high-intensity poetry, with the audience choosing a winner. Join in for an alternative way to spend your Friday night. Hosted by 2Deep the Poetess. $5 Cover.

Annie Mahon – Things I Did When I Was Hangry
Saturday, December 12th, from 1:30 to 3:30 pm
The Meditation Museum
9525 Georgia Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20910

Meet Annie Mahon, whose written this helpful book about the complicated relationships people have with food. Take a workshop about navigating a peaceful relationship with food. Examine your current relationship with food and eating through journaling and mindful dialogue and learn and practice tools for understanding. We will work gently with meditations, slow movement, self-compassion, and mindfulness exercises. No experience necessary and all body shapes are encouraged. Free admission.

John Grady and Art Taylor
Sunday, December 13th, from 2 pm to 4 pm
The Writer's Center
4508 Walsh Street
Bethesda, MD 20815

John Grady reads from Matthew Fontaine Maury, Father of Oceanography. He is joined by Art Taylor, author of the forthcoming On the Road with Del and Louise. The reading will be followed by a reception and book signing.

Monday Night Open Mic
Monday, December 14th
Busboys and Poets (Brookland location)
625 Monroe St. NE
Washington, D.C. 20017

For two hours, audiences can expect a diverse chorus of voices and a vast array of professional spoken word performers, open mic rookies, musicians, and a different host every week. Expect to be moved, expect a packed house, expect the unexpected, but above all come with an open mind and ear. Hosted by Joseph LMS Green. $5 cover.

Monday Night Open Mic Poetry
Monday, December 14th from 8 pm to 10 pm
Busboys and Poets (Shirlington location)
4251 South Campbell Avenue
Arlington, VA 22206

For two hours, audiences can expect a diverse chorus of voices and a vast array of professional spoken word performers, open mic rookies, musicians, and a different host every week. Expect to be moved, expect a packed house, expect the unexpected, but above all come with an open mind and ear. Hosted by 13 of Nazareth. $5 Cover.

Laurie Ann Levin – Life in Life
Tuesday, December 15th from 9 pm to 11 pm
Busboys and Poets (Takoma location)
235 Carroll St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20012

In Life in Life, Dr. Laurie Ann Levin, award-winning author and renowned holistic psychologist, guides you effortlessly into loving yourself through meditations that spark connection to your highest self. An interactive, easy-to-use, personal journal, Life in Life will inspire individual exploration and spiritual expansion with exercises that build insight, intuition, and a capacity for calm. Almost all of us struggle with destructive thinking and toxic self-criticism. Life in Life can help you overcome past traumas in your career, relationships, health, and love. Whether you are beginning your journey or have experience meditating, "Life in Life "will guide you to a new level of wholeness. The exercises in this book can be done anywhere, anytime, in private, with a partner, or in a group. Free admission.

Wednesday Night Open Mic Poetry
Wednesday, December 16th from 9 pm to 11pm
Busboys and Poets (5th and K location)
1025 5th St NW
Washington, DC 20001

For two hours, audiences can expect a diverse chorus of voices and a vast array of professional spoken word performers, open mic rookies, musicians, and a different host every week. Expect to be moved, expect a packed house, expect the unexpected, but above all come with an open mind and ear. Hosted by Jonathan Tucker. $5 Cover.

Thursday Night Open Mic
Thursday, December 17th from 9 pm to 11 pm
Busboys and Poets (Hyattsville location)
5331 Baltimore Ave
Hyattsville, MD 20781

For two hours, audiences can expect a diverse chorus of voices and a vast array of professional spoken word performers, open mic rookies, musicians, and a different host every week. Expect to be moved, expect a packed house, expect the unexpected, but above all come with an open mind and ear. Hosted by Rebecca Dupas. $5 suggested donation (cash only).

Poetry & Prose Open Mic
Sunday, December 20th from 2 pm to 4 pm
The Writer's Center
4508 Walsh Street
Bethesda, MD 20815

Share your work and talent with other writers! Sign up begins at 1:30 pm. Free admission.

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Spotlight on Literary Events: December 5-10



Youth Open Mic
Saturday, December 5th from 4 pm to 6 pm
Busboys and Poets (Shirlington location)
4251 South Campbell Avenue
Arlington, VA 22206

Youth-focused and youth-led, Youth Open Mic is a monthly series that features student poets, singers, musicians, and actors from the DC/Maryland/Virginia area. Middle school and high school students are encouraged to come share their art in our supportive, progressive, artistic atmosphere. $5 Cover.

Michelle Chan Brown and Patricia Schultheis 
Sunday, December 6th from 2 pm to 4 pm
The Writer's Center
4508 Walsh Street
Bethesda, MD 20815

Come to a reading by winners of the Washington Writers' Publishing House competitions. Poet Michelle Chan Brown reads from Motherland With Wolves. She is joined by Patricia Schultheis, author of St. Bart's Way. The reading will be followed by a reception and book signing. Free admission.

Dave Tevelin – Death at the Howard
Sunday, December 6th from 6:30 pm to 8 pm
Busboys and Poets (5th and K location)
1025 5th St NW
Washington, DC 20001

April 4, 1968. Dr. Martin Luther King is dead and so is Brenda Queen, shot on stage at the Howard Theatre, Washington’s soul music showcase, as rioters rage through the capital. Was it a tragic accident, a calculated crime, or something else? That’s what rookie cop Jake Katz has to figure out in Death At The Howard, a novel about a web of events that will change him, his city, and his country forever. Through it all, Katz learns who he is and who he aspires to be, at an unexpected cost to both him and his family. Free admission.

Sparkle Queer Mic
Sunday, December 6th from 8 pm to 10 pm
Busboys and Poets (14th & V location)
2021 14th St, NW
Washington, D.C. 20009

SPARKLE Open Mic Poetry is a queer-friendly and focused reading series that has featured an array of LGBT-dedicated poets. Hosted by Regie Cabico and Danielle Evennou. $5 Cover.

Tiriq R. Callaway – A Diamond in God’s Dirt
Saturday, December 7th from 6 pm to 7:30 pm
Busboys and Poets (5th and K location)
1025 5th St NW
Washington, DC 20001

In his real life accounts, Tiriq R. Callaway will take you on a journey through his most endearing childhood moments growing up in a disadvantaged neighbourhood and brave reflections on his family's hard times. His tenacity and relentless fight to graduate with his master's degree in social work encourages others. Ultimately, he inspires all to defy their past for a prosperous future and not allow your past to define you. Free admission.

B. A. Shapiro – The Muralist
Monday, December 7th from 8 pm to 10 pm
Busboys and Poets (Shirlington location)
4251 South Campbell Avenue
Arlington, VA 22206

Shapiro, author of The Art Forger, has something for both art enthusiasts and mystery lovers with her seventh novel, which spotlights the transformative early years of American abstract expressionism while telling a gripping story of two unforgettable women. Shapiro entwines historical with fictional figures, charting the 1940s New York art scene and a woman’s mysterious disappearance, while also narrating the contemporary story of the missing woman’s great niece, who discovers the art that may at last resolve the mystery.

Monday Night Open Mic Poetry
Monday, December 7th from 8 pm to 10 pm
Busboys and Poets (Shirlington location)
4251 South Campbell Avenue
Arlington, VA 22206

For two hours, audiences can expect a diverse chorus of voices and a vast array of professional spoken word performers, open mic rookies, musicians, and a different host every week. Expect to be moved, expect a packed house, expect the unexpected, but above all come with an open mind and ear. Hosted by KaNikki J. $5 Cover.

Monday Night Open Mic
Monday, December 7th from 9 pm to 11 pm
Busboys and Poets (Brookland location)
625 Monroe St. NE
Washington, D.C. 20017

For two hours, audiences can expect a diverse chorus of voices and a vast array of professional spoken word performers, open mic rookies, musicians, and a different host every week. Expect to be moved, expect a packed house, expect the unexpected, but above all come with an open mind and ear. Hosted by E-Baby. $5 cover.

Ray Lewis - I Feel Like Going On: Life, Game, And Glory
Tuesday, December 8th at 12 pm
Politics & Prose Bookstore and Coffeehouse
5015 Connecticut Ave. NW
Washington, D.C. 20008

Lewis’s heartfelt memoir covers the highs and lows of the legendary linebacker’s life, both on and off the field. Abandoned at an early age by his father, Lewis channelled his energy into football, developing the skills that made him one of the best defensive players in the sport’s history, and that earned him MVP status in his second Super Bowl victory. Note: this is a signing only. The line will form at 11 am and order will be first come, first served. Ray Lewis will begin greeting fans and signing books at 12 pm and stay for up to two hours.

Author Dinner with Jonathan Bardzik – Seasons to Taste
Tuesday, December 8th at 6:45 pm
Upshur Street Books
827 Upshur St NW
Washington, DC 20011

Join Jonathan Bardzik for an evening of delicious food and delightful conversation. Beginning with a wine and a food demo, Bardzik will show you a few simple techniques and recipes. It’s the first course of a hearty three-course meal. Tickets: $80.12.

Tuesday Night Open Mic
Tuesday, December 8th from 9 pm to 11 pm
Busboys and Poets (14th & V location)
2021 14th St, NW
Washington, D.C. 20009

For two hours, audiences can expect a diverse chorus of voices and a vast array of professional spoken word performers, open mic rookies, musicians, and a different host every week. Expect to be moved, expect a packed house, expect the unexpected, but above all come with an open mind and ear. Hosted by Pages Matam. $5 cover.

Tuesday Night Open Mic hosted by Orville Walker
Tuesday, December 8th from 9 pm to 11 pm
Busboys and Poets (Takoma location)
235 Carroll St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20012

For two hours, audiences can expect a diverse chorus of voices and a vast array of professional spoken word performers, open mic rookies, musicians, and a different host every week. Expect to be moved, expect a packed house, expect the unexpected, but above all come with an open mind and ear. Hosted by Orville Walker. $5 Cover.

Influence of French and American Revolutions
Wednesday, December 9th from 12 pm to 1 pm
Library of Congress
James Madison Building (Pickford Theater – Third Floor)
101 Independence Ave SE
Washington, DC 20540

According to author Janet Polasky, "Nation-based histories cannot do justice to the rowdy, radical interchange of ideas around the Atlantic world during the tumultuous years from 1776 to 1804. National borders were powerless to restrict the flow of enticing new visions of human rights and universal freedom." Polasky makes her case in her new book, Revolutions Without Borders: The Call to Liberty in the Atlantic World. Free admission.
Nine on the Ninth hosted by Derrick Weston Brown
Wednesday, December 9th from 9 pm to 11 pm
Busboys and Poets (14th & V location)
2021 14th St, NW
Washington, D.C. 20009

The Nine on the Ninth is a now legendary monthly poetry series that debuted in October 2005. The feature opens the show and the open mic follows. Immediately following the feature will be a short interview and audience Q&A with the artist.  $5 Admission.

Wednesday Open Mic Poetry hosted by Elizabeth Acevedo
Wednesday, December 9th from 9 pm to 11 pm
Busboys and Poets (5th and K location)
1025 5th St NW
Washington, DC 20001

For two hours, audiences can expect a diverse chorus of voices and a vast array of professional spoken word performers, open mic rookies, musicians, and a different host every week. Expect to be moved, expect a packed house, expect the unexpected, but above all come with an open mind and ear. Hosted by Elizabeth Acevedo. $5 Cover.

Thursday Night Open Mic
Thursday, December 10th from 9 pm to 11 pm
Busboys and Poets (Hyattsville location)
5331 Baltimore Ave
Hyattsville, MD 20781

For two hours, audiences can expect a diverse chorus of voices and a vast array of professional spoken word performers, open mic rookies, musicians, and a different host every week. Expect to be moved, expect a packed house, expect the unexpected, but above all come with an open mind and ear. Hosted by Two Deep. $5 suggested donation.