Finding comfort in small moments of escape became a way of survival for many throughout 2020. Wendy Taylor Carlisle discusses just this and more in today's chat about her pages penned penned in pandemic.
What does the pandemic currently look like in your city?
Our city has 2000 people, but we are a tourist hub, so lots of folk from Oklahoma and Missouri without masks. So far, we have few cases, but we're wary.
What are some favorite books you've read during quarantine?
Fire to Fire: New and Selected by Mark Doty, Louise Gluck’s Meadowlands, Vita Nova, The Wild Iris, Faithful and Virtuous Night (again). I just discovered Laura Kasischke through her, Where Now: New and Selected—I took my time with that, and am just now studying Meter with Annie Finch and reading her hefty, A Poet's Craft. I'm finishing A Strange and Eventful History, a biography by Michael Holyroyd of Ellen Terry & Henry Irving & their families and Szymborska's Poems - New and Collected is always on my nightstand.
If you haven't been reading, what are some books you're most looking forward to reading?
When the reader is ready, the book will appear.
Have there been any movies, tv shows, podcasts, etc. that have helped keep you at ease the past few months?
The stupidest Rom Coms possible—a soap from Australia called “Offspring.” I watch far too much political stuff on TV, that and police procedurals, neither of which comfort me.
How has the pandemic affected your writing?
I've done "The Grind," a poem a day, five out of the last 9 months. I've submitted less but written a lot.
Are there any projects you are excited to keep working on? If so, can you give us any details (no spoilers please!) about your project?
I will be reprinting a book from 2008 with Doubleback and will be reediting that starting after Christmas.
If asked ten years from now what the past few months have taught you about being a writer, what would come to mind?
There are no excuses for not writing. There is nothing more comforting than writing. I think I'll be able to write through an apocalypse, if a Rom-Com doesn't hijack me.
Have there been any fellow writers or people in your life who have helped you stay connected during the pandemic?
Two writing groups and classes with Kim Addonizio and Annie Finch.
Is there anything that excites you about the changes being incited in the publishing world in light of recent events?
I don't have much to do with the "publishing world" I write. I publish. That's my world. There seem to be more little magazines. That's nice.
Are you a plotter, pantser, or somewhere in between? Has this changed during the pandemic?
I'm a poet. Doesn't apply. Hasn't changed in years.
Where is your favorite place to write? Has this changed during the pandemic?
At my desk in my little office, after taking notes in my big chair in the living room from 6-8 in the morning.
If you curated a playlist for writing life in the pandemic, what top 5 songs would be on your list?
I don't listen to music when I write, it confuses me, taking up space, as it does, needed for the wordmelodies.
Without too many spoilers, what is your favorite poem you've written since the pandemic began?
I walk more, so I've written a bunch about Arkansas wildlife and flora and those have been new for me and are a delight.
While the future is just as unknowable as ever, what is something you are most looking forward to this year?
I don't look forward or backward. I try to stay where my feet are.
Is there any advice you would give to young writers during this time?
Read, then write. Rinse and repeat.
ABOUT Wendy Taylor Carlisle
Wendy Taylor Carlisle lives and writes in the Arkansas Ozarks. She is the author of four books and five chapbooks. Her poems have appeared on line, in Rattle, Cider Press Review, and others and forthcoming in the Atlanta Review.
To learn more, follow Wendy and her writing journey at her website or on Twitter and Goodreads.
Thanks for chatting, Wendy!
