Denise Low, second Kansas Poet
Laureate, had a chat with Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, third poet laureate, about
the writer in the public square. Denise is teaching an online class for the TLA
Network starting Nov. 9 and running until Dec. 20,
“The Word Artist in the Public Square,” focusing on being a writer for
life. She’ll be covering public reading basics, publication and personal
balance, reviews, blogs, blurbs, conferences, workshops, residencies, contests,
grants, and building community. http://tlablog.org/2015/10/12/interview-with-denise-low-the-writer-in-the-public-square/
C
MG: What gifts and challenges are there to being “out there”
as a writer?
DL: Gifts are many—self-awareness, great friends, appreciating enduring
works of art, travel (both physical and intellectual)—I love the writing life.
Writers are my favorite people, because of their interest in history, science,
gossip (really, human behavior anecdotes), cultural geography, and more. Yes,
writers can be a tad egotistical, but heck, they are worth it. The main
challenge is self-absorption. The good writer has a sense of what appeals to an
audience, not just what is fun to write. I’m working with a new fantasy writer,
self-taught, who loves to spin out his stories. Now he wants to publish. I feel
a bit sad that his joy in creating tales will be tempered by demands of
writing—point of view, grammar, character development, and so forth. Yet these
technical issues make our work comprehensible to others. Also, when he
publishes, he will have to promote his works. Now writers have to know how to
prepare press kits, approach reviewers and media, schedule readings, and so
much more. Cutbacks at most presses plus the rise of self-publishing make it
necessary for writers to generate their own publicity. Further, years ago it
was permissible at a book launch for writers to mumble passages from their
books and get drunk at receptions. Now author presentations are quite
professional, often including PowerPoints. This is an exciting time to be an
author, and also a challenging one.MG: What gifts and challenges are there to being “out there”
as a writer?
CMG: How do you
balance your writing time with putting yourself out there in community?
DL: Writing is a solitary,
self-reflective act. Paradoxically, we introverted writers participate in so
many community activities— readings, conferences, workshops, reviews, blogs,
social media commentary, residencies, and more. Keeping a schedule helps me
out. I divide my time into blocs for book biz, revision, and drafting new work.
Usually, I spend Mondays on promotion and other business, plus office management.
Keeping a fairly clean workspace helps me stay productive. Yes, I have lost
checks and lots more in piles of papers. Time management people advise us to
schedule clean-up time, and they are right. The rest of the week I spend only
an hour or so on incoming business. Then I turn to writing chores, including
revisions. The end of the week is for drafting new work, my favorite. I never
do business or chores on weekends. That way I truly have some quality writing
time scheduled. Other people divide up their days differently. Each of us is
individual, so the challenge is to find what works best. No one has the exact
formula for how to write. This is the delight of the writing process.
CMG: What
do you see as the possibilities for the writer in the public square? What can
and should a writer's role be in community?
DL: Most of us writers are not content to put our work
into a drawer. Self-validation is what draws many of us to writing, and this is
good work. Personal development through writing also makes us better community
members. I started with journals. Writing has helped me a lot— Caryn, you knew
me when we both were new writers with stars in our eyes. I had a vague idea of
becoming “famous.” Now I understand that I want to contribute to a heritage of
literary arts that began with human speech and will continue long after I am
gone. Being part of that tradition—whether for self, family, community, region,
or larger audiences—is a privilege. Writers contribute in so many ways as
literary citizens—to organization newsletters, workshops, blogs, and formal
publications. Any participation in the literary realm adds to cultural
literacy. I define literacy as knowing the literary works and histories connected
to our languages. This study leads from our ancestors forward to future
descendants. What a privilege.
Denise Low is an award-winning author of 25 books
of prose and poetry, including Jackalope (short fiction, Red Mountain Press);
Mélange Block (poetry, Red Mountain Press); Ghost Stories (Woodley Press, a Ks.
Notable Book; The Circle -Best Native American Books); and Natural Theologies:
Essays (Backwaters Press). She has British Isles, German, Delaware
(Lenape/Munsee), and Cherokee heritage. She edited a selection of poems by
William Stafford in an edition with essays by other poets and scholars, Kansas
Poems of William Stafford (Woodley). Low is past board president of the
Associated Writers and Writing Programs. She blogs, reviews, and co-publishes
Mammoth Publications. She teaches professional workshops nationally as well as
classes for Baker University’s School of Professional and Graduate Studies. Her
MFA is from Wichita State University and PhD is from the University of Kansas.
More at www.deniselow.net, http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/denise-low,
http://deniselow.blogspot.com, and www.mammothpublications.com
