Throughout 2020, time moved differently. While some languished in the empty days, others took advantage of these newfound hours. Karla Linn Merrifield 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?
I'm a snowbird in the US in Florida, recently relocated from Western New York. In my home state of NY, there's been an uptick, but our restrictions have been clear and well communicated so that the virus is fairly well under control. People are for the most part following the laws. Florida is another matter--there are NO restrictions here so I traded snow and a controlled virus for warmth and an uncontrolled virus spread, meaning I am very much safely cocooned in my condo away from the world at large.
What are some favorite books you've read during quarantine?
I've been reading biographies of famous guitarists since before COVID for a book I'm writing on guitars and famous guitarists that will be published in 2021. So I've "lived" with biographies: Warren Zevon, Jimmy Page, Carlos Santana, and several others.
If you haven't been reading, what are some books you're most looking forward to reading?
I am looking forward to Canadian mystery writer Louise Penney's newest, already on my nightstand.
Have there been any movies, tv shows, podcasts, etc. that have helped keep you at ease the past few months?
I was just talking about this with my bestie. I'm a Netflix junkie currently watching "Weeds." Total distraction. I watch YouTube videos friends share and for book research. Scroll Facebook. Read the NYT and WP daily. And have my Alexa play music on demand. Not much time for regular telly, and I'd rather read than podcast.
How has the pandemic affected your writing?
It's given me more time without many distractions to think more and write more. I'm disciplined about my writing normally and that habit has served me well to use "newfound" time.
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 have two full-length collections of poetry coming out in 2021, one in February, now in early production stage, and the second out in December that I'm still composing poems for, maybe a dozen to go. I'll be happily busy booking Zoom readings and workshops , sending out monthly batches of submissions as per usual, keeping my journal (in its 57th year), reading poetry, receiving poetry, sharing poetry. I am a fortunate daughter.
If you haven't been able to write, are there any projects you're hoping to work on next?
Writing, no problemo. I want to keep learning how to play my guitars so I can write their poems.
If asked ten years from now what the past few months have taught you about being a writer, what would come to mind?
Show up. Stand up. Witness. Envision. Write.
Have there been any fellow writers or people in your life who have helped you stay connected during the pandemic?
So, so many writers, artists, teachers, mentors, friends, lovers, good spirits have buoyed me. I am a fortunate daughter.
Is there anything that excites you about the changes being incited in the publishing world in light of recent events?
The publishing world is adapting! The explosion of journals and other outlets online, which are often also published in print...Instagram...YouTube...podcasts... The new media are our friends.
Is there anything that worries you about the changes being incited in the publishing world in light of recent events?
I worry about a retraction in the "traditional" publishing outlets with a "blockbuster" mentality. I worry about university presses diminishing because of lack of funding. I worry about smaller, independent and often non-profit publishers can survive without arts and grants funding. But thanks in part to the Internet, determined creative souls will prevail. This Kayla King Books endeavor to wit.
Are you a plotter, pantser, or somewhere in between? Has this changed during the pandemic?
IMHO, I'm an ace planner. I relish the opportunity to plan ahead and plot my course around the globe, traveler that I am. COVID brought that to a halt (with many reservations to cancel). I'm learning new horizons: when the vaccine comes and is widely distributed...mid-2021? No way of discerning confidently that horizon. I've loosened up schedule-wise.
Where is your favorite place to write? Has this changed during the pandemic?
No change. I write everywhere, anywhere. In my head, on paper, on keyboard. But I have pet places: the sunroom at my northern home, the lanai at my Florida winter home.
If you curated a playlist for writing life in the pandemic, what top 5 songs would be on your list?
GREAT question!!!!!
1.) Warren Zevon's "My Shit's Fucked Up"
2.) Claire Means’ "Guts"
3.) Led Zeppelin’s "Stairway to Heaven"
4.) Leonard Cohen’s "Chelsea Hotel, No. 2."
5.) Gloria Gaynor’s "I Will Survive”
Without too many spoilers, what is your favorite scene poem you've written since the pandemic began?
The poem I wrote about Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, a pantoum, a difficult poetic form I felt did him justice.
While the future is just as unknowable as ever, what is something you are most looking forward to this year?
Two delayed 50th-year high school reunions (I shad to split my secondary education). Book launches. Meals with friends and lovers. And, please, please, a president named Joe Biden.
Is there any advice you would give to young writers during this time?
Show up. Do it. Even if it's only a sentence or a paragraph/stanza every day.
Is there anything else you would like to share?
Thank you so much for this introspective experience. I am a fortunate daughter.
ABOUT Karla Linn Merrifield
Karla Linn Merrifield, a nine-time Pushcart-Prize nominee and National Park Artist-in-Residence, has had 800+ poems appear in dozens of journals and anthologies. She has 14 books to her credit. Following her 2018 Psyche’s Scroll (Poetry Box Select) is the newly released full-length book Athabaskan Fractal: Poems of the Far North from Cirque Press.
In early 2021, her Half a World of Kisses will be published by Truth Serum Press (Australia) under its new Lindauer Poets imprint. She is currently at work on a poetry collection, My Body the Guitar, inspired by famous guitarists and their guitars; the book is slated to be published in December 2021 by Before Your Quiet Eyes Publications Holograph Series (Rochester, NY). Her Godwit: Poems of Canada (FootHills Publishing) received the Eiseman Award for Poetry. She is a frequent contributor to The Songs of Eretz Poetry Review, and assistant editor and poetry book reviewer emerita for The Centrifugal Eye. She is a member of Just Poets (Rochester, NY), the Florida State Poetry Society, the New Mexico Poetry Society, and The Author's Guild.
To learn more, follow Karla and her writing journey at her website and on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.
Thanks for chatting, Karla!
