Questions and Answers
What inspired or motivated you to write this poem?
This poem came out of some weird and overwrought relationship I have with place and family. In a large family spread across the country, you really only go back to certain places and see certain people when someone in the family has died. For me, it’s hard to think of certain places in Atlantic Canada without also thinking about funerals. This is a fun answer. I’m great at parties.
What poetic techniques did you use in this poem? How much attention do you pay to form and metre?
I believe all writing is a form of overwriting, because of all the associative meanings and weight carried by words we toss around without always considering the layered meanings in some of our choices. That belief has led me to start making more overt use of overwriting elements in the form—palimpsest and sous rature are techniques I try to use with varying levels of success. White space, portmanteau, and unexpected spacing are tools I like to use to reinforce the constructed nature of my work and remind myself of my project. I also just like how it looks. As I’ve gotten more visual with my work I’ve started incorporating badsad art into it with text overwriting the visuals. I don’t enjoy metre. I like it when I see other people do it well, but the construction in my work is already asking a lot of patience from a reader.