Serendipity: Erica Goss
This time the rendezvous was with a poet Erica Goss. She has served as Poet Laureate of Los Gatos, California from 2013-2016. Her latest poetry collection, Night Court, won the 2016 Lyrebird Prize from Glass Lyre Press. She is the author of Wild Place (2012, Finishing Line Press) and Vibrant Words: Ideas and Inspirations for Poets (2014, Pushpen Press). Here is a snippet of the chat with her.
RW: Please tell us what description will
fit you in real life?
EG: I'm a poet and
writer interested in the the intersections between humans and nature. How do we
negotiate our space in a way that does not negatively affect the natural world?
What is the emotional impact of living in a world where the environment is
changing rapidly due to human activities? These are questions I try to address
in my writing, as well as the ongoing process of aging, relationships, and
family. I also make short films based on my poems, and I'm working on a memoir
about my experience growing up as the daughter of a WWII survivor.
RW: Amazing!! How does it feel to
be a published author/writer? What are your preferred genres? Please share the
high points and low points in your journey.
EG: Being published
is a wonderful feeling. I would write without publication, and did for many
years, but the experience of having my work accessible to others is a great
privilege. I'm primarily a poet, but I also write essays, articles, and
reviews. I started writing short pieces as a child, which my parents told me
were poems, so I accepted that I was writing poetry. I was lucky to grow up in
a house filled with books, and I read all kinds of things before I was old
enough to understand what they meant. I loved words, not just in English, but
in German and Spanish and French. Sometimes my work is the result of a single
word, like the poem "Encontrada," which means "found" in
Spanish.
RW: I agree with you totally. Books inspire the way nothing else can. What does your
writing place look like? Please describe in terms of location, personal
comfort, stationery etc.
EG: I just moved
into a new house and I'm waiting for my furniture to come, but I now have the
luxury of "a room of my own," to quote Virginia Woolf. My previous
work space was in a tiny alcove between a hall closet and the kitchen. The
advantage was that I could lean to the right and open the refrigerator whenever
I got hungry, but the disadvantage was that everyone else in the house did the
same thing, and of course I was in the noisiest and most-trafficked part of the
house. In spite of that I got a lot of work done in that space. But really, I
am most happy in a quiet place where no one will ask me why we're out of milk
(!) I often go to the public library when I need a change of scenery.
RW: It is so important to be at peace and be surrounded with peace while writing. Which theme or cause is closest to your heart? Why?
EG: The theme I
return to over and over is the intricacies of our emotional life. This subject
is the foundation of most of my work, no matter the topic - whether it's family,
the environment, politics, or nature. I want to know how and what these things
make us feel. If I have a goal in my writing, it's to move my reader
emotionally.
RW: Wow!!! Emotions are your flavour for writing, that is a vast subject. What, according to
you, are your strengths and weaknesses as a writer? Please share your
positive and negative traits.
EG: Starting with
strengths, I believe that I'm always trying to move in new directions with my
work. I don't always succeed at first, but I enjoy trying new forms, new places
for inspiration, and I always try to find new audiences. I never take days off,
because I don't think of writing as a job, but a calling. Of course, I don't
write as much on weekends as I do during the week, but I'm always alert to the
possibility of an idea. My number one weakness is distraction. My attention is
too easily diverted by bright shiny things, and I have to work hard to
concentrate.
RW: I agree. It is difficult when you are distracted. Describe your latest
book. Where can we buy it?
EG: My book is a
collection of poems titled Night Court. It won the 2016 Glass Lyre Press Award
for Poetry, and is available at the publisher's website: Glass Lyre Press .The poems in the book deal with physical and mental health, loss and grief, the
happiness and challenges of a long marriage, nature and spirituality.
RW: Who and/or What
inspires you the most? Why? Please bring out the reasons for such
inspiration.
EG: First of all,
my husband inspires me every day. His dedication to our family and his support
have allowed me to be a full-time writer. His work ethic is humbling. He's
incredibly intelligent, and there doesn't seem to be anything he can't fix. I
also have a slightly weird inspiration place: parking lots. For some reason,
the most ordinary parking lot brings out the poetry. I have many poems that
started in parking lots. If I'm low on ideas, attending a poetry reading is a
good way to get my brain working again. And I read voraciously, everything from
the daily newspaper to poetry and prose in different languages.
RW: What all do you do
when you are not writing? Please bring out your hobbies and interests.
EG: My major hobby
is gardening. That's not to say I'm a very good gardener, but an ideal day for
me is when I can write all morning and spend the afternoon digging in the dirt.
I also enjoy making short videos, taking photographs, and being outdoors. I
keep visual journals, which I decorate with little pictures that I draw or cut
out of magazines. All of my hobbies are related to or contribute to my writing.
RW: Which writing project
are you currently working on? Please provide a blurb, if any.
EG: Right now I'm
busy promoting my poetry collection, Night Court. Here's a blurb from Susan G.
Wooldridge: 'Night Court leaves us hungry for more of the poet's open, probing,
leaping intelligence, her "wild associations" and surprises in the
unexpected “shivering” sweetness of a love story where “joy scrambles sadness."
We hear "the clatter of souls entering bodies" and experience
"spring’s lizard stealth" as sadness, longing and reluctance are
transformed by breath-stopping beauty. Like a creature in the forest, the poet
will “rub my cheek against the night.” And she reminds us a prince waits,
perhaps for centuries, until we wake.' -- Susan G. Wooldridge, author of
poemcrazy: freeing your life with words
RW: If you could
re-write one book written by another author, which would it be
and why?
EG: I would re-write The Taming of the Shrew
with the gender roles reversed.
RW: What a choice! William Shakespeare! Thank you so much for this interview. Wishing you all the best for all your writings and I hope your writings continue to touch lives the way they do now.
lt has been a pleasure getting to know Erica Goss, an amazing poet. Do check out her writings and video poems.
RW: What a choice! William Shakespeare! Thank you so much for this interview. Wishing you all the best for all your writings and I hope your writings continue to touch lives the way they do now.
lt has been a pleasure getting to know Erica Goss, an amazing poet. Do check out her writings and video poems.