kerry rawlinson is a mental nomad. She left Zambia decades ago to explore and landed in Canada. Fast forward: she’s still barefoot, tiptoeing through dislocation & belonging. Awards: Glittery Literary and Edinburgh International flash contest winner; notable poem Best Canadian Poetry; Pushcart nomination; Honorable mention/ finalist for several contests, e.g. Proverse & Fish Poetry; Canterbury Poetry; Room; National Poetry Society and Palette. Recent work in: Topic Take Up; Grain; Freefall; Rochford St. Review; Prism Review; Event Poetry; Prairie Fire, and more. When not challenging established norms, kerry kayaks and drinks too much (tea). kerryrawlinson.com @kerryrawli
You can read Snowsongs in the January 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?
Snowsongs was written in response to one of those mornings that just feels electric. It’s my custom to watch the sunrise with a cup of tea, no matter the weather. It’s my way of allowing nature to take over and bring my attention to the small things. This particular winter day it was so snow-foggy I couldn’t see anything. Slowly, like a blind person, my hearing intensified. Small sounds in the neighbourhood took on greater significance, as if they were the only things happening in the whole world. Then as the poem describes, a clutch of sparrows exploded out of the fog about three feet in the air away from me, in complete contrast to the quiet colourlessness, and it felt like a small miracle.
Why was the poetic form the best fit for this particular piece of work?
The form made itself. I wanted the words describing each sound to stand alone, as the sounds themselves did, with a fog-filled breathing space between them. And to my joy, the format of a snowflake emerged.
Do you have a collection of poetry or even a single poem that acts as a touchstone?
I wish I could say I have published collections? I have ten completed chapbooks and four full collections waiting for an editor. Perhaps the first to be published will qualify as a touchstone.
If you didn’t write poetry, how do you think you might access the same fulfillments that poetry offers in your life?
As I’m also an architectural designer, an artist, a photographer and a writer of flash fiction, I treasure each of the different fulfillments these occupations bring me. But none give me the freedom (and the constraints) to express myself as poetry does.
How do you revise your work?
Avidly! Musicality, metaphor and metre are very important to me, so that takes a lot of work. I’ve been known to sometimes overwork a piece though, and have to blow it up and start over.
What are you working on now?
As mentioned I have four full collections already complete. But two works in progress currently occupy my time. The first is an erasure collection of each page of the novel “Cannery Row’ by John Steinbeck, entitled ‘Little Fish, Uncanned’. The poem is then placed on a background of original art or art-photography. The other WIP is also erasure, but with a difference. It’s entitled ‘Va/Cum’, which is an extraction/ erasure of the book’s title: ‘The Traveler’s VADE MECUM’ or Instantaneous Letter Writer by Mail or Telegraph, for the Convenience of Persons Traveling for Business and for Pleasure, and for Others, Whereby a Vast Amount of Time, Trouble and Labour Is Saved’, by A.C. Baldwin, c.1853. The original of this Victorian oddity was cooked up to facilitate more efficient & frugal communication during travel. Telegram was the medium in those days, and this handbook provided code numbers that correspond to fixed phrases. The intended recipient would similarly have a copy of the book and would look up your telegraphed code numbers to discover your travel experience. Following the example of the title, I have created erasure poems by redacting the original quirky Victoriana into pieces that hopefully respond to and reflect our societal age and issues.
How or where or with what does a poem begin?
Anything in the world can trigger a poem for me. Words overheard between strangers, a song, a painting. Most often for me it’s something in nature or something humanity has done to itself.
Are there other art forms that inspire or inform your poetry?
Definitely. All art is interlinked, so music, photography, art or architecture is inspirational.
How do you make space for poetry in your daily routine?
I’m fortunate to be retired, so actually making space for daily necessities comes second to my practices!
What are you reading or watching or listening to lately that intrigues or inspires you?
I’ve discovered ‘Promises’ by ‘The Floating Points’ featuring the late Pharoah Sanders. It’s very moving, for me, and it seems to unlock my creativity listening to it.
Have you ever received advice (or has there been something you’ve learned on your own) about writing or revising poems that has made you a better poet?
Recently Tori Reynolds of the North Carolina Poetry Society critiqued three poems and she blew the lid off my head. I’m an extremely private person so have been reticent to use first person in my work. Tori persuaded me that it’s vital for my work to be authentic. Warts and all.
Do you belong to a writer’s group? If not, where do you find poetry community and feedback?
I belong to a variety of groups but partake in none. Imposter Syndrome, I guess…
In terms of poetic style or craft, is there a big question you are trying to find an answer for?
Finding my individual, authentic voice. I think this is every poet’s journey, from Milton down to Jane Hirshfield. Thanks for this opportunity to share mine.