March 2011
Georgia Ann Popoff is a community poet, educator, spoken-word producer, and editor of the Comstock Review. She is the co-author with Quraysh Ali Lansana of Our Difficult Sunlight: A Guide to Poetry, Literacy, & Social Justice in Classroom & Community.

What is the most essential part of a story or poem that makes it worth writing?
Each and every word. Every word has to earn its way into the poem for me to decide I am satisfied. However, I believe that it is like fishing and three elements are key to the venture: title (bait), first line (hook), and last line (net). A good title attracts the reader, the strong or surprising first line commits the reader ot hte poem, a memorable last line seals the deal.

How much do you revise?
Constantly and incessantly. Revision is my favorite part of the writing process, where the craft resides. It is not uncommon for me to revise a poem 20 or 30 times and sometimes it is years.

How do you know when a piece is done?
Age-old question, but I don’t ever really know that they are done. I reach a point of satisfaction with the poem in a particular state and then I leave it alone. But I could look at that poem a year later and change it. None of them are carved in stone for me.

How do you “practice” your craft?
Most of my “practice” is in teaching, following the adage that you teach what you want to learn. Since I work in K-12 education a great deal of the time, I have to constantly return to the basics for myself as well. Whether I am teaching young people or adults, in the articulation of the elements of the craft, as well as addressing the questions, I am constantly reminding myself of my own aesthetic. Then, when actively working on a poem, I put that aesthetic into play. I also journal a lot so I have a repository for all the “therapy” that might wander erroneously into a poem. I no longer write every poem that jumps into my consciousness because, at this point, I do not care to be iterative. I write the poems that demand to be captured.

In your work, are you more interested in the language or the message?
Both are equally important. A good message fails if the language is flat or self-indulgent. A poem that has no message but lots of capable description is much like flat ginger ale. Equally, it should be as compelling on the page and from the stage so the poem meets its own full potential.

What’s your favorite part of the writing process?
Although it is always a rush to generate a first draft, particularly after a quiet time, I am more interested in the revision process and how that allows me to consciously develop the work and bring it to full form and meaning. Sometimes this means that I give up some of my original assumptions as to what the poem is about or how it sounds/speaks to the reader/audience. That process of discovery is liberating and almost always leads to a poem that exceeds my original expectation.

What book have you read recently that you couldn’t put down?
This winter, while teaching in a middle school, I was advised by faculty, students, and the library media specialist that The Hunger Games trilogy was a must-read. I was consumed to the point that I read the whole series within 10 days and have now passed them on to friends. I also read The Secret Life of Bees fully captivated. Right now the book of poetry that is consuming me is Judith Harris’ The Bad Secret.

Are there any aspects of writing that you feel can’t be taught?
I don’t feel I fully share what inspires a poem. It is so nebulous. They just arrive like an unexpected guest. That is so abstract a notion, it is hard to articulate. Also, though I try to instill a love of language, I don’t know that I am necessarily successful, mostly in schools. I think when I teach adults, I infect them well with recognizing how cool words are.

How does teaching influence your work as a writer?
First of all, there will always be a question that causes me to stop and challenge my own beliefs and assumptions, or addresses something of the work of a writer that I have not had to articulate before. Teaching keeps me very sharp in that way. I also have to read more to teach and that informs my creativity. Not everyone is meant to teach but, for me, it is part of the reason I think I am a writer.

What’s your favorite in-class writing prompt?
This is the easiest question so far! I love to ask students of any age to write about the bathroom of the house they grew up in. The responses are marvelous and provide a great deal of insight into each person who meets the assignment.

How do you create lessons to appeal to as many students as possible?
I have the good fortune of working in schools and an adult writing program where I can test out my lesson plans on a variety of ages and demographics. There is very little that I cannot adapt to any age. It is the vocabulary and the more abstract levels of inquiry or the complexity of the lesson as it unfolds that changes, but the basic premise is almost always adaptable.

Do you stick to lesson plans or follow the class dynamic wherever it takes you?
The lesson plan is the framework and presents the objective but I will always follow the class dynamic, especially if the conversation will lead to new discovery. Some of my best tried-and-true lessons now came of leaving another lesson behind to follow the class where they needed to go.

How much of yourself—your personal interests, your approach to writing—do you share in a classroom?
Although some might disagree, I am an open book with students. They have permission to ask me any question, although I reserve the right to keep some things private. I share a great deal of my experience, both as a writer and as a human. I think it is possible, particularly in school settings, for young people to think I do not understand them or their concerns. By sharing some of my life, we meet on more common ground and there is more communication and willingness to trust my instruction.

What are your grammatical pet peeves?
First and foremost, sitting in a public school faculty room, particularly an English Department office and listening to one teacher tell another that “her and I went shopping…” It drives me nuts. I also do not get why so many educated people mix up the use of “its” and “it’s” or “then” and “than.” I troll signage and restaurant menus for errors all the time too.