Goodreads asked Suzzette Dawes:

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Suzzette Dawes The idea behind my most recent book, "Seventieth Avenue" to be released on March 28, 2015, are the roads that connect us all.
What happens when a poet goes to a workshop at the Kerouac House in Orlando?

I was inspired by Sam Riley and Walter Salles’ movie “On The Road” and reflected on each of the characters in poems. I reflected on my own journey from university to moving and living in New Jersey and having to come back home to Florida to my mother. Once in Florida, I embarked on an exploration by going to Daytona Beach and even partook in open mic night. It rained but I let the road lead me to Sarasota for Favorite Poetry Reading weekend. Even my vacation in Alaska inspired poems when I saw the monument to Mollie in a Skagway park and thought of home in Florida where Natalie was murdered a few blocks from her residence. Also invoked inspiration of Marissa in trial in Florida for firing warning shots.

Poetry workshops especially those led by Anastasia Clark, Broward’s poet-in-residence were pivotal in providing some inspiration for some poems. The workshop at the Kerouac House led by Monica Wendel also inspired some poems. The ultimate inspiration is the name of the roads that connected me to my mother and sisters, Seventieth Avenue.

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