12 or 20 (second series) questions with Karen Enns

Karen Enns is the author of four books of poetry: Dislocations, Cloud Physics, winner of the Raymond Souster Award, Ordinary Hours, and That Other Beauty. She lives in Victoria, BritishColumbia.

1 - How did your first book change your life? How does yourmost recent work compare to your previous? How does it feel different?

My first book marked a commitment to poetry, to writing, thatwas already there, so it didn’t change my life in that sense, but having thepoems in print did make the commitment public, which adds a slightly differentperspective.

My most recent work reflects some of the same preoccupationsas the earlier poems but the structures are more variable. The pressure on theline has definitely changed over time and I’m more comfortable working with longerpoems.

2 - How did you come to poetry first, as opposed to, say,fiction or non-fiction?

I wrote poems when I was very young and then turned to musicfor a long time, but I was always drawn to the form, the condensation—whenreading, the possibility of being transported in just a few lines. Poetry’sobvious musical component was definitely an inducement.

3 - How long does it take to start any particular writingproject? Does your writing initially come quickly, or is it a slow process? Dofirst drafts appear looking close to their final shape, or does your work comeout of copious notes?

First drafts of poems often visually resemble their finalshape, in the sense that they already have a length of line and a rhythmic pitch,so to speak, but they don’t usually “appear” in any kind of final form. Theprocess is often slow, a chiselling away, but that working out of the lines andarcs, the modulations, is absorbing. It reminds me of learning a piece ofmusic.

I don’t usually make notes, but I’ve probably lost some goodideas along the way because of this.

4 - Where does a poem usually begin for you? Are you anauthor of short pieces that end up combining into a larger project, or are youworking on a "book" from the very beginning?

I work on a poem, or sometimes several poems at once, withoutany sense of a longer book form. Much later, when I have a collection of files,I slowly begin to see the possibilities of a larger structure. It’s a bit likestanding on a dock watching for a boat to appear out of the fog.

A poem can begin in many ways, but there has to be arecognizable moment for me, a slipping into a different mode of seeing orhearing, with an emotional charge, that generates the impulse of the poem.

5 - Are public readings part of or counter to your creativeprocess? Are you the sort of writer who enjoys doing readings?

I write in solitude, so readings are not part of thecreative process itself, but they’re part of a broader cultural conversation ina public sphere, like concerts, plays, films, art exhibits, that is essential forartistic exchange. Everyone benefits from that dialogue. Having said all that,I do get nervous for readings.

6 - Do you have any theoretical concerns behind yourwriting? What kinds of questions are you trying to answer with your work? Whatdo you even think the current questions are?

I’m not conscious of trying to answer questions with my work.The searching is probably more crucial, not only for creative reasons, butalso—I like to think—because whatever the current questions may be, a sense ofopen-endedness can be transcending.

7 – What do you see the current role of the writer being inlarger culture? Do they even have one? What do you think the role of the writershould be?

Absolutely, the writer has a role. I don’t know that it haschanged that much through history, although each era has its own particularchallenges. But writers often observe from the outskirts. They create a pause,a space, in which it’s possible to imagine other ways of seeing and thinking,other worlds.

8 - Do you find the process of working with an outsideeditor difficult or essential (or both)?

It’s challenging to think hard about inconsistencies orweaknesses in your own work, or to question patterns you rely on, but theprocess is essential and broadening. And there is the possibility of developinga literary friendship with someone whose editorial work you trust and respect.

9 - What is the best piece of advice you've heard (notnecessarily given to you directly)?

Some of the best advice appears in verse itself.Zagajewski’s “Try to praise the mutilated world” comes to mind.

10 - What kind of writing routine do you tend to keep, or doyou even have one? How does a typical day (for you) begin?

I write in the morning before the day’s distractions pileup.

11 - When your writing gets stalled, where do you turn orreturn for (for lack of a better word) inspiration?

Most of the time, it’s simply a matter of choosing whetherto push through or be patient while things settle, but bike rides and hikes arehelpful. I’m very fortunate to live near forests and coastlines.

12 - What fragrance reminds you of home?

If I moved away from the west coast, I’m sure it would bethe scent of cedar when it rains, but to be back in Niagara again, on the farm,in a second, it’s the smell of turned-up soil in spring.  

13 - David W. McFadden once said that books come from books,but are there any other forms that influence your work, whether nature, music,science or visual art?

I’d say all of the above have influenced my work at varioustimes.

14 - What other writers or writings are important for yourwork, or simply your life outside of your work?

The writing community in and around Victoria is a strong,lively one, which has been important. Farther afield, the work of writers andthinkers responding to political crisis, violence, displacement, are animportant resource for thinking about the future, as well as looking back to myown family/cultural history.

15 - What would you like to do that you haven't yet done?

Become fluent in German, my first language; learn Chopin’s Bminor Sonata; visit Ireland. The list is long.

16 - If you could pick any other occupation to attempt, whatwould it be? Or, alternately, what do you think you would have ended up doinghad you not been a writer?

I worked as a classical pianist for a number of years, andstill teach, so I’ve had the opportunity to follow a path other than writing.

17 - What made you write, as opposed to doing somethingelse?

A love of reading.

18 - What was the last great book you read? What was thelast great film?

I recently read Walk the Blue Fields and SmallThings Like These by Claire Keegan, as well as a wonderful collection ofstories, Motley Stones, by Adalbert Stifter.

19 - What are you currently working on?

Short fiction.

12 or 20 (second series) questions;