12 or 20 (second series) questions with Emilie Buchwald
Emilie Buchwald’s book of poems, The Moment’s Only Moment won a silver BenjaminFranklin Award. Her poems have been published in Harper’s, The AmericanScholar, Kenyon Review, The Lyric, Sleet, Sing,Heavenly Muse, When Women Look at Men, Rocked by the Waters,among others. She is the editor of the Poetry Society of America’s WallaceSteven Centenary Celebration, The Poet Dreaming in the Artist’s House,Mixed Voices, and This Sporting Life. Her award-winningchildren’s titles include Gildaen and Floramel and Esteban (HarperCollins), and Buddy Unchained.
Buchwald, PhD, Hon DHL, was the cofounder and publisher of Milkweed Editions, editor or coeditor of more than 200 books ofpoetry, fiction, and, nonfiction titles centered on social justice and theenvironment. Books she edited received more than two hundred awards orrecognitions. When she retired, the press had more than a million books incirculation. In 2006, Buchwald became the founding publisher, editor, and nowcopublisher with Dana Buchwald, of The Gryphon Press, publishing children’s picture books about the human-animal bond, addressing thechallenges real animals face and the impact of human kindness and caring.
Distinctions include The Lyric Memorial Award,The Kay Sexton Award, the McKnight Foundation Distinguished Artist of the YearAward, the A.P. Anderson Award, and the National Book Critics Circle IvanSandrof Lifetime Achievement Award.
1 - How did your first book change yourlife? How does your most recent work compare to your previous? How does it feeldifferent? I’ve always writtenpoetry; I’ve had poems published in various journals, but my first and second publishedbooks were children’s novels, and, after that, editing four poetry anthologies,all before my first published book of poems. Each experience was positive, but havinga body of work together in a first book was thrilling and very positive.
2 - How did you come to poetry first, asopposed to, say, fiction or non-fiction? Poetry came early and very naturally to me as a way of expressing my thoughtsand experiences with people and especially about describing my thoughts about thenatural world.
3 - How long does it take to start anyparticular writing project? Does your writing initially come quickly, or is ita slow process? Do first drafts appear looking close to their final shape, ordoes your work come out of copious notes? There’s a first rush of excitement when I’m smitten by anidea for a book. After that, the project takes a great deal of time because Idraft and redraft until I’m satisfied. Sometimes I have to put the project onhold because I can’t see the best way to conclude it.
4 - Where does a poem or work of fictionusually begin for you? Are you an author of short pieces that end up combininginto a larger project, or are you working on a "book" from the verybeginning? It usually begins with an image or an idea. I don’t beginby thinking about a book at the outset but about capturing what I’m seeing andfeeling in each individual poem.
5 - Are public readings part of or counterto your creative process? Are you the sort of writer who enjoys doing readings?I very much enjoycommunicating with readers in person. There’s energy coming from an audienceduring a reading, as well as in th questions and answer, and having conversations about thebook afterwards.
6 - Do you have any theoretical concernsbehind your writing? What kinds of questions are you trying to answer with yourwork? What do you even think the current questions are? I’m concerned that as a culture, we aredeliberately shut off by business and government from what happens behind thescene, to animals as well as to people. Writing about the reality of beingalive and in touch with the experiences of the residents of the planet isimportant to me.
7 – What do you see the current role ofthe writer being in larger culture? Do they even have one? What do you thinkthe role of the writer should be? I think that one’s writing should expressone’s personal values. If you can truthfully and persuasively share thosevalues with readers, that’s a meaningful addition to the cultural conversation,and it means committing in our writing to what we really think and care about.
8 - Do you find the process of workingwith an outside editor difficult or essential (or both)? I have been an editor and publisher for much of my adult life. As aneditor, I do my very best for a manuscript; that is, I speak truthfully aboutwhat would make it better and what I see as holding the work back from being assuccessful and energizing as it might be.
9 - What is the best piece of adviceyou've heard (not necessarily given to you directly)? This is a very old piece of advice: After you’vewritten something and you think you’re finished, put the manuscript away anddon’t look at it for at least a few weeks. The Roman poet Horace suggestedwaiting two years! However, whenever you come back to your work, you will seeit much more clearly, without the first rush of excitement. Tincture of time givesyou the opportunity to be your own best editor and your own harshest critic.
10 - How easy has it been for you to movebetween genres (poetry to books for children)? What do you see as the appeal? I happen to enjoy writing in bothof those genres, and I do think experience in one genre is useful in moving toanother.
11 - What kind of writing routine do youtend to keep, or do you even have one? How does a typical day (for you) begin? An idea for something I’m working on often comes to me unbidden. I jotdown as much as I can of that initial thought until I have time to return toit. But, once I’m engaged in a writing project, I establish a routine for thatwork, and I give it as much time as I can.
12 - When your writing gets stalled, wheredo you turn or return for (for lack of a better word) inspiration? I read—the writers whose work I admire in the genre I’m working in. That’soften just what I need to do before going back to the project— because I’ve observedways and means to do a better job.
13 - What fragrance reminds you of home? Cooking fragrances like cinnamon, parsley, dill and of course, onionsfrying, the great TS Eliot objective correlative. These fragrances jog mysenses into greater connection with the world around me.
14 - David W. McFadden once said thatbooks come from books, but are there any other forms that influence your work,whether nature, music, science or visual art? When I see greatworks of art, I want to know how to admire them, what makes them unique. Thenatural world, however, is a constantly available resource. When I’ve beenenergized by the ever-changing reality outside my door, I feel recharged, andconsider that I might have somethingworthwhile to say.
15 - What other writers or writings areimportant for your work, or simply your life outside of your work? Like many writers I know, I’m always keenly interested in what’s new aswell as what books I’ve missed over the years. I follow certain writers,especially poets whose work I love, like Wislawa Szymborska; their writing is nurturing.It’s also fun to talk about books with other writers.
16 - What would you like to do that youhaven't yet done? Write acollection of short stories. I have a few that I continue to think areworthwhile.
17 - If you could pick any otheroccupation to attempt, what would it be? Or, alternately, what do you think youwould have ended up doing had you not been a writer? I have another occupation, as a publisher and editor, anoccupation that keeps me close to writers and writing.
18 - What made you write, as opposed todoing something else? It wasthe only thing I wanted to do. I was drawn to writing from mu earliest years, becauseI wanted to see whether I could come up with something that I, as a reader,would find worthwhile. I’ve thrown out much, much more than I’ve kept.
19 - What was the last great book youread? What was the last great film? Recently I’ve been reading nonfiction about the natural world we’reindustriously destroying. I would recommend Ed Yong’s An Immense World as consistently enthralling and enlightening.
20 - What are you currently working on? I’ve started on my next book ofpoems. I’ve also gone back to the most recent draft of a children’s novel thatI think could be more interesting than anything I’ve written thus far. One ofthe joys of writing for me is the constant opportunity to break through intonew territory, to say it better.
