Q: It was terrific to finally meet you in person, Cassie! (We recently met in real life while I was reading poetry at an event in Columbia, SC where Cassie lives) Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to stop by my reading. I can’t wait to return the favor as you have readings coming up for not one book but two! Tell us a little bit about these two new projects.
A: It was great to meet you, too, Jessie! I especially loved your poem about your new iPhone. I connected with the fact that while these new technologies have a lot of advantages, there are times when we want (and need!) to step away from the beeps and screens and get quiet, focus, and listen to our wise voices within.
That is what my new poetry book is about, in fact. This is how honey runs is a book of poems based on work that I do in my Co-Creating practice, where I teach people how to use creative writing as a way of finding clarity, healing, and empowerment.
The new novel is about that, too– but in a more narrative and historical way. I like fiction because of the way it can take us to different places, teach us about different cultures and histories– and my novel, Shamrock and Lotus, does just that, with characters from Ireland, India and the United States.
Q: So glad you enjoyed the little iPhone poem. I’m looking forward to typing it up and revising it very soon! I had a chance to read this is how honey runs before it was released and I was impressed by how equally strong and feminine this poems of hope and recovery were. Can you tell us a little bit more about how the poems and the book evolved? I’d love to post an excerpt from one as well.
A: It’s interesting you say “equally strong and feminine” because I’ve been thinking about that word, “feminine.” It’s kind of out of fashion, isn’t it? Yet the novelist, Mary Alice Monroe, used it to describe my novel, as well. So I do think that my work goes beyond the current labels of “feminist” or “gendered” or even “women’s writing” and recaptures something strong and beautiful about the feminine.
Here’s a poem from the collection that illustrates that:
Bold
Athena was not always bold.
We want to think she was.
We want to remember the owl,
the victories, the wisdom.
Nothing comes like this.
The owl was an egg first.
That sound you’re hearing.
The one your heart is making.
That is your egg cracking.
This poem, and all of the poems in This is how honey runs, were literally written during my Co-Creating sessions with clients. I call what I do Co-Creating because when they write, I write, and together we create a sacred space where the small, scared, creative voice is made to feel safe and can come out and begin to sing again. I remember vividly the session when I wrote this poem–I was working with a woman who was so smart and was just finishing her Master’s degree and was about to take her first college teaching job, but she was terrified and also had all these other things going on in her life (like a man who really wasn’t right for her–that old story, haha), and she was feeling paralyzed and tangled up by it all. And I wanted to help her see herself clearly, simply. I wanted to say, “Here. This egg. That is you.”
Q: Thank you so much for sharing that particular poem and the story behind it. I love how you have taken the notion of collaborating to this mutually therapeutic and rewarding experience for both parties involved. I want to switch gears, just a bit, to focus on the idea of collaborating on a different level. I came to know you and your work through Annmarie Lockhart, of the online journal Vox Poetica and now the small press Unbound Content, but I love that we have other connections, such as my friend (and fellow poet) Tara Powell who is a professor in Columbia, SC where you also live. Tell me a little about how you came to know Annmarie and how you came to producing this particular book together.
A: That’s a great question! And there’s a lesson in the story of it, too. I first heard of Vox Poetica through a call for poetry posted on Literary Mama, where I’ve been a longtime contributor and have a monthly column called “Birthing the Mother Writer.” I sent my poem, “The Poemgranate,” http://poemblog.voxpoetica.com/2009/11/23/the-poemgranate.aspx, which was published on Vox Poetica and later nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Since then, I continued to get to know Annmarie as an energetic, optimistic, and caring editor, and we eventually became friends by connecting on Facebook, through email and on the phone. So the first lesson is to stay in touch with editors– they are people who are in this profession because of their passion, and your personal and professional respect for them can be very worthwhile!
Then the story of the poetry book, This is how honey runs, is this: in May, I was getting ready to send off the manuscript to a bunch of different chapbook contests– this is how most poetry books get published these days– and right before I wrote all my checks and put all the envelopes in the mail, I thought to myself, “Well, Annmarie is such a great journal editor and I know she’s started a new press that does anthologies. I wonder if she’d like to publish this as Unbound Content’s first single-authored collection?” So I sent it, and two days later she said yes. So the other lessons of this experience are to take chances, think outside the box, try something new, don’t think you have to tread down all the usual paths, offer your gifts to the world and see what happens!
Q: Thank you for taking the time to tell us a little bit about your poetry and newest poetry book. Is there anything else you’d like to share with the writers/poets who stop by this site?
A: I’d love for people to visit me at my website { http://www.cassiepremosteele.com } where they can find out more about my Co-Creating practice, my new poetry book, and my other writings. There’s also a Contact page where they can get in touch with me directly. And I want to thank you, Jessie, for all you do for the poetry world to help keep us connected and creative! It’s been a real pleasure talking with you.
Cassie Premo Steele, Ph.D., is a Pushcart Prize nominated poet, the author of seven books, and a creativity coach who lives along a beautiful creek in South Carolina. She works with individuals in person and long distance teaching writing and creativity as ways to bring about healing, balance and empowerment. You can find her book on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/This-honey-Cassie-Premo-Steele/dp/1936373041/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1285363405&sr=1-7
