How did you develop your poetic writing?
A lot of trial and error. Back in the mid to late nineties, when I decided to see what I could do, I spent a couple of years scouring second hand bookshops for any poetry books I could get my hands on, and reading and rereading them. I had a copy of Lewis Turco’s Book of Forms, so one thing I would do is pick a form at random, then pick a line from a poetry collection and try to use the two to create something. Lots and lots of very bad poems came as a result, but some good ones too. I gradually got to the point where I was ready to start sending things out … and got tons of rejections. But quite a few editors were kind, and told me what almost worked for them, and why. And eventually I started getting acceptances.
Because I’m a hermit, all this was happening just me on my own. But eventually one of the editors I was in communication with told me for the second time that I should contact a particular writers group – The Airing Cupboard Women Poets group. I did, and found my tribe. Incredible, generous women, writing poetry at every conceivable level. After a couple of years, I was invited to join a critique group, which was amazing. And it’s where I found my writing partner – Helen Bascand. She and I shared our work with each other every week for the best part of seventeen years. She knew my work better than anyone, and pushed me to do better. I started going to poetry readings being held by the Canterbury Poets’ Collective, and taking the terrifying step of reading at open mics. And I met other poets who took me under their wing – James Norcliffe, John O’Connor and David Howard in particular. Each of them pushed me in different ways.
Then we had the three years in the UK, where I completed the manuscript of my first collection, The Summer King as part of the MPhil. I had a pretty good track record of publication in the UK at that point, so as we were leaving, I sent it round UK publishers … and got an impressive collection of rejections follow me home. Came back to NZ with a case of writers’ block that lasted for three years; was made to submit the manuscript to a competition (The inaugural Kathleen Grattan Award) being judged by Fleur Adcock … and won it. By “made to submit” – David Howard phoned, and made my husband get me out of the bath to come and be instructed on exactly how I was to get the damn thing in on time – it had to be in Dunedin by first thing Monday morning, and this was 9 pm on Saturday evening. Fortunately David had worked at NZ Post at one point, and knew which post boxes were cleared in time for this to be possible … and yes, all this information was being given to me while I was standing wrapped in a towel.
I’ve edited/co-edited nine (I think?) poetry anthologies, including three for the New Zealand Poetry Society, and Leaving the Red Zone: poems from the Canterbury earthquakes. That’s always an interesting experience – working with a variety of poets to try and polish their pieces, and seeing how best to fit the different voices together. All of that inevitably informs your own practice – it’s so much easier to see the flaws in a piece of writing that didn’t come from you, and it helps you to later be more aware of those flaws in your own work.
Also teaching is a big part of it. I teach creative writing, and there’s nothing like having to explain technical things to a group of adults who are not inclined to take your word for it to make you really examine the whys and hows of the craft.
So the short answer would be: reading, writing, failing, talking, teaching, writing more, editing, failing better, having great mentors, being involved in critique groups, and being the sort of nerdy person who really loves to delve deeply into things and has an unquenchable book lust …
Did you have any influences?
Loads. They’ve changed over time, but by country – Kate Llewellyn, Dorothy Porter and Anthony Lawrence in Australian poetry; James Norcliffe, Helen Bascand, and Sue Wootton in NZ poetry; from the UK Carol Ann Duffy, Simon Armitage, Sheenagh Pugh, Philip Gross, Gillian Clarke, Paula Meehan, David Constantine, John Burnside, Fleur Adcock, of course Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes; from the US I’d say , Kimiko Hahn, Donald Hall, Jane Kenyon, Carolyn Forché, Rita Dove, Louise Glück …
To follow up the work of Joanna Preston see the following link: joannapreston.com/bio/
