Getting To Know

When did you first encounter poetry? How did you discover that you wanted to write poems? Growing up in a small New Hampshire town, I found solace in many places- the woods, the estuary, the railroad tracks- but always seemed to find myself returning to the same spot:...

When did you first encounter poetry? How did you discover that you wanted to write poems? I was a latecomer to poetry really, outside of the limited exposure in grade school and high school. I remember one Old English Poetry class in college in 1979. But really it...

When did you first encounter poetry? How did you discover you wanted to write poems? It began with Bob Dylan’s lyrics at the age of thirteen and then Charles Bukowski was the first poet I read—no, no— I could “relate to” somehow.   From there, my whole high...

a conversation between Lip Manegio and Bradley Trumpfheller It seems fitting to begin an interview with the beginning of your book, so I wanted to ask about your epigraph, which is half critical text quote and half song lyric. That kind of mixing of the “high” with...

I read your interview with Frontier Poetry, & in it you talked about the joy you felt when Bury Me in Thunder was accepted for publication, and during revision. I’m wondering if you could talk about moments of joy you encountered in the process of writing the...

As your artist bio states, your last two collections centered around very distinct themes (deer and the moon) -- does Ugly / Sad have a central image at its core as well? Ugly/Sad is centered more around a feeling, or a group of feelings, than an image – it’s this...

Tell us a little bit about your new collection: what's the significance of the title? are there over-arching themes? what was the process of assembling it? was is a project book? etc. In terms of the title, I always like to find a word or phrase that seems...

Do you have a writing routine? A favorite time or place to write? I prefer to write in the morning, caffeinated or after a meditation. When writing, I listen to one song on repeat. Typically something instrumental or fast-paced that is able to transport me.  When...

Do you have a writing routine? A favorite time or place to write? Yes, I write every day. Not poems every day, per se. But my daily blog, inspired by my walks in nature and the photographs I take, inspire my writing ritual. My blog, #NewThisDay, is my kind of shared...

Do you have a writing routine? A favorite time or place to write? I would certainly like to develop one! As they say, any great artist has a studio practice. For me, lately, writing just happens and at the most unexpected times--strolling into work, walking the dog,...

Do you have a writing routine? A favorite time or place to write? My routine always starts with clustering, putting a word or two in a central bubble (most recently “Possibilities” from Wislawa Symborska) and then writing associations around it. I teach a lot, and I...

When did you first encounter poetry? How did you discover that you wanted to write poems? I grew up in a house full of poetry. My parents read poetry to me as a child, and as a child, I sometimes used to write poems. But I began to take my poetry writing seriously for...

When did you first encounter poetry? How did you discover that you wanted to write poems? I first encountered poetry as a child when I fell in love with Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson. Later, I found myself drawn to dozens of poets, and then scores more. I’ve always...

When did you first encounter poetry? How did you discover that you wanted to write poems? I took ‘the scenic route’ toward writing poetry. My first passion for writing started in high school, and then as an undergraduate at Bates College. That was nearly 40 years ago!...

When did you first encounter poetry? How did you discover that you wanted to write poems? My first serious encounter with poetry was in college. I did not encounter poetry as a child, and no one in my family reads it or writes it. In high school, I was not much of an...

When did you first encounter poetry? How did you discover that you wanted to write poems? I was lucky enough to take a creative writing class in high school. Our teacher, Dr. Martin Galvin, introduced us to Anne Sexton, E.E. Cummings, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman...

When did you first encounter poetry? How did you discover that you wanted to write poems? As a child, I memorized “The Tale of Custard the Dragon,” by Ogden Nash, for an English class.  I remember being taken in by the sounds and whimsy of the poem.  I began...

When did you first encounter poetry? How did you discover that you wanted to write poems? In middle school I remember reading Shakespeare for the first time when my class performed Romeo and Juliet. I was really taken with the sonic beauty of the language, and I feel...