Anna Mark is a poet and educator living in rural Ontario, an emerging voice in Canadian poetry. She has published poems in two international anthologies: No More Can Fit Into the Evening: An Anthology of Diverse Voices, edited by Standing Feather and Thomas Davis; and Indra’s Net: An International Anthology of Poetry in Aid of the Book Bus, edited by Kristina Burgess. She has degrees in history, art and education from the Universities of Guelph and Toronto. Her last name is Czechoslovakian and she enjoys its meaning, watcher on the wall, for how it reminds her to notice transformative words and experiences, life as poetry.
You can read Fortuna’s Tender in the October 2024 issue.
Would you like to tell us a little bit more about your poem? For instance, how or why you wrote it, or perhaps provide some extra context?
I wrote Fortuna’s Tender while in Jamaica after hearing a woman quietly sing Que Sera Sera as she served the guests their breakfast buffet. I became interested in her as a symbol of fate; the poem aligns me with her life and positions me within the inequity that is between us. I was deeply moved by her singing and her life.
How do you revise your work?
I write using a computer. A poem begins loosely and gradually becomes more charged and specific. It begins without shape but as I revise it a form appears, then I destroy the form and reformat it into a paragraph (prose). Revision continues as the words change from poetry to prose and back to poetry. Simile and metaphor are refined using that process, ultimately seeking a poem. When I think a poem is ready for another reader, I ask them to read it aloud. The process of poem-to-prose-to-poem continues until we both feel the poem is somehow true. I’ve recently sent poems to an editor and have enjoyed involving yet another reader and their expertise.
How or where or with what does a poem begin?
I like the image of latent seeds in a fertile inner landscape. Each seed waits to be opened and to grow. I don’t know what each seed will bloom into until something breaks it open and I love it when this happens! It’s always a mystery, how it breaks open: mind/body/spirit and that elusive boundary of self/other, inner/outer.
How do you make space for poetry in your daily routine?
Most, if not all, of my poems are written with people around me, in my kitchen or living room with my children, dog and husband close by, playing, cooking, doing homework and interrupting me with conversation. There are also intense times of quiet and solitude, but most poems are written in the noise of life. One day, I will transition into a quieter life and I wonder how that will influence my writing. I don’t have a studio, or study, or room of my own.
How did you begin writing poetry? Was there a specific inspiration or reason?
I began writing poetry during a long, dark night of the soul. Poetry was a form of expression for something that couldn’t otherwise be voiced.
In terms of poetic style or craft, is there a big question you are trying to find an answer for?
I often wonder if my voice is coherent and distinct: What words would I use to describe my poetic voice?
Do you have a collection of poetry or even a single poem that acts as a touchstone?
Angel in the Snow and First Death continue to be favourites and have been revised since their publication. I’d love to publish them again one day!