January 2009

What is the most essential part of a story or poem that makes it worth writing?
The part that can’t be said aloud, that can only find itself through syntax and rhythm.

How much do you revise?
Not enough.

How do you know when a piece is done?
When I cry, laugh really loud, yelp, or clap my hands together.

How do you “practice” your craft?
Any way I can. At the moment: one-handed. I’m breastfeeding.

In your work, are you more interested in the language or the message?
The language.

What’s your favorite part of the writing process?
When the anxiety leaves, and it’s suddenly just me and the words.

What book have you read recently that you couldn’t put down?
More than it Hurts You by Darin Strauss.

Are there any aspects of writing that you feel can’t be taught?
Yes. I think there are some natural rhythms and desires, but in the end, those matter little; what matters is the wanting it and the practice of it.

How does teaching influence your work as a writer?
It makes me more patient. Maybe kinder to myself. It also makes me more aware of my sentences.

What’s your favorite in-class writing prompt?
I love to have students make nonsense poems using words that are already in the classroom.

How do you create lessons to appeal to as many students as possible?
I use a lot of movement, sound, visuals. I like to try to appeal to the whole of the writer and also to the whole of me as a teacher.

Do you stick to lesson plans or follow the class dynamic wherever it takes you?
A little bit of both. I always have a plan but I let the dynamic take that plan in various directions.

How much of yourself—your personal interests, your approach to writing—do you share in a classroom?
Depends on the classroom: quite a bit with my college-aged students, very little with my younger students.

What are your grammatical pet peeves?
Its real, like, hard, to pick.