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Joanne Clarkson Shares Her Practice of Poetry and Several of Her Poems

Sheila Bender's Writing It Real Posted on by

In March, my husband and I ran into Joanne while we were out walking and she was returning home from a walk. Over the CDC prescribed distance, we remembered the radio interview she had done with me for KPTZ, and I asked if she would be interested in a Zoom interview for the pandemic National Poetry Month.

So, this National poetry month, join poet Joanne Clarkson and me for a zoom recording of our discussion of her poetry practice during the pandemic (guaranteed to inspire you). She reads new poems and one she says she had forgotten about and warmly shares her poetry successes and disappointments (even reading a poem she is not happy with). Our conversation affirms the value of poetry in contemporary life. And it affirms the fact that poets don’t often know with new work if they have finished it or must work on it some more. It was a refreshing 40 minutes for me.

If you haven’t gotten to hang out with poets for a while or wonder about the way poets talk about poetry and their lives in poetry, you will find this conversation of interest.

Let us know your thoughts in the comment box at the end of this post. You can visit Joanne at her website.

 

Comments

Joanne Clarkson Shares Her Practice of Poetry and Several of Her Poems — 7 Comments

  1. Where did my comment go? Not straight to YouTube, I hope. I can’t find it! A 6-minute poem to the both of you for such an EXCITING interview!!

    • No worries. It did go to YouTube because you commented there rather than on our Writing It Real article. I copied it for you to post here:
      “Ah, Joanne Clarkson! How exciting! You and Sheila gave me permission to bound out of bed and write this poem! I’m for bounding out of bed (like Ray Bradbury) and moving to my keyboard. (remember this prompt Sheila?)

      ““Ah, Joanne Clarkson!
      How exciting!
      You and Sheila
      gave me permission
      to bound out of bed
      and write this poem!
      I’m for bounding out of bed
      (like Ray Bradbury)
      and moving to my keyboard.
      (remember this prompt Sheila?)
      But First
      I have to disarm the alarm
      and then,
      start the Keurig coffee
      and then
      open the Northroom blinds
      to check the watering system.
      Yes.
      I’ll bound out of bed,
      and adopt your routine
      of writing this poem.
      But first
      I have to exercise and stretch
      my body to meet the special needs
      of my Parkinson’s regimen.
      “Hurry, Sam,” says my muse
      or you’ll lose those thoughts
      those precious first lines
      those precious six minutes
      that excited you
      as you bounded out of bed.

      Sam, I am excited that this interview inspired you!

  3. Having just watched/listened to you and Joanne, here I am again, Sheila.
    This is just a pleasure, a good back and forth, a comfortable conversation
    that was (sorry, but the word ‘meaty’ just arrived). And several times I forgot
    that I was not ‘in there with you two,’ with my laughing aloud, my nodding my head
    ‘oh, yes, I like those ‘best of the year’ poetry books, too, and honestly at the end
    when Joanne read the granddaughter/reading poem I raised my hands over my keyboard beginning to applaud. (remember my poem ‘Muted,’ that you helped me with — Guess I just can’t be muted) So here’s my applause to you and Joanne Clarkson !!!
    P.S. “Muted” will appear in Schuylkill Valley Review (Ty) Xo

    • Congratulations on the publication of your poem, Nancy. I am very pleased that you felt you were in the “room” with Joanne and me and enjoyed the conversation. I too think the poem about her granddaughter learning to read is a knockout!

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