Kyle Potvin: Five Things You Need To Write Powerful And Evocative Poetry
An Interview With Heidi Sander
Study the world. There is a lot of noise in our daily lives. Take a walk or a long drive. Find quiet and allow your mind to open. Watch and collect images. Trust you will know when and how to use them.
Poetry is growing in popularity and millions of people spanning the globe have a renewed passion for embracing the creativity, beauty, and art of poetry. Poetry has the power to heal and we make sense of the world through the human expression of writing and reading. Are you wondering: What does it take to become a successful poet? What is the best medium and venue to release your poetry? What are some techniques to improve or sharpen your skills? In this interview series about how to write powerful and evocative poetry, we are interviewing people who have a love for poetry and want to share their insights, and we will speak with emerging poets who want to learn more about poetry either to improve their own skills or learn how to read and interpret better. Here, we will also meet rising and successful poets who want to share their work or broaden their audience, as well as poetry and literature instructors.
As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kyle Potvin.
Kyle Potvin’s debut full-length poetry collection is Loosen (Hobblebush Books, 2021). Her chapbook, Sound Travels on Water, won the Jean Pedrick Chapbook Award. A New Hampshire resident, Kyle is a two-time finalist for the Howard Nemerov Sonnet Award and received a commendation in the 2019 International Hippocrates Open Prize for Poetry in Medicine. Her poems have appeared in Bellevue Literary Review, Tar River Poetry, Rattle, Ecotone, JAMA, The New York Times, The Huffington Post, and others.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share a story about what first drew you to poetry?
When I was little, I loved getting mail. I was raised Catholic, so I would send a dollar or some change in an envelope to the Maryknoll Sisters and they would send back little prayer cards that had an inspirational quote on them. I read each one many times.
One quote that completely captivated me was: “no, it’s the continuing series of small tragedies that send a man to the
madhouse…not the death of his love but a shoelace that snaps with no time left…”
As an adult, I Googled the quote and was surprised to find it was part of a poem called, “The Shoelace,” by underground poet Charles Bukowski. I loved the idea that a nun somewhere was circulating a Bukowski quote as part of a religious series of inspirational sayings. It certainly influenced me!
Can you tell us a bit about the interesting or exciting projects you are working on or wish to create? What are your goals for these projects?
My new poetry collection, Loosen, was released by Hobblebush Books in January 2021. It is my debut full-length collection and was a long time — nearly 15 years — coming. The book explores illness, loss, and healing. While it covers serious topics, there is humor sprinkled in — and hope — because life can be comic, no?
Wonderful. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. Let’s begin with a basic definition so that all of us are on the same page. What is your definition of poetry? Can you please share with us what poetry means to you?
Poetry is a vehicle for discovery: about yourself, someone else, the world. It may mean discovery of sound or a startling image. The discovery may be that you don’t like a particular poem. Or the discovery may be surprise that another brought you to tears.
In her book Strange Terrain: A Poetry Handbook for the Reluctant Reader, former New Hampshire Poet Laureate Alice B. Fogel does a great job of providing simple tools to help everyone become more comfortable with reading poetry.
What can writing poetry teach us about ourselves?
Robert Frost said, “No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.” Writing poetry teaches us things we may not have realized or been able to articulate about ourselves or our world. It is a way to express the inexpressible.
Who are your favorite poets? Is it their style, the content or something else that resonates with you?
There are so many poets that move me — it’s difficult to isolate one reason. It’s the package of sound, image, words, and meaning. Favorite poets include Linda Pastan, Jane Kenyon, Lucille Clifton, Rhina Espaillat, Wislawa Szymborska. Recently, I’ve read or heard amazing work by Sumita Chakraborty, Krysten Hill, Jennifer Militello, Matt Miller, Meg Kearney, Victoria Chang and many more. There are so many types of poetry out there — you may not like it all — but you will like something.
If you could ask your favourite poet a question, what would it be?
How do you write about the everyday, and yet, seemingly effortlessly, deliver a universal message?
Poetry can be transformational. Is there a particular poem that spoke to you and changed your life or altered a perspective you held in some way? Can you share the story?
I was diagnosed with breast cancer when my children were 4 and 6. During treatment, I stumbled onto a poem by Kim Addonizio. The title, “Happiness After Grief,” launches the poem which continues, “feels like such a betrayal.” In the end, it is a simple thing that brings joy: “our little neighbor, running barefoot, no pants, fox stole wrapped/around/her shoulders.” There is craft and art and life in this poem. I immediately printed it out and taped it into my journal. Joy returns.
For a poetry book, Ilya Kaminsky’s collection Deaf Republic haunts me. It’s a lesson and a warning. This is a book about humanity.
Today’s world needs so much healing. Can you help articulate how poetry can help us heal?
I am co-founder with Tammi Truax, Poet Laureate of Portsmouth, N.H., of the Prickly Pear Poetry Project: Processing the Cancer Experience Through Poetry, a workshop for survivors and caregivers. Our own experiences with cancer — Tammi lost her husband and other family members to the disease, and I am a breast cancer survivor — showed us the healing power of poetry. During these difficult times in our own lives, we found reading and writing poetry to be extremely cathartic. In our Prickly Pear workshops, we read illness-inspired poetry and encourage participants to write their own. The workshop is not about critiquing the work; it is about providing a voice for emotions difficult to share in daily conversation. Each session is so incredibly moving. This healing power translates to trauma of any kind.
We’d like to learn more about your poetry and writing. How would you describe yourself as a poet? Can you please share a specific passage that you think exemplifies your style or main message?
I write in a variety of forms including sonnets, blank verse, and free verse, yet many of my poems tend to circle back to loss somehow. I like to think they are hopeful too. Here is a poem from Loosen. The Jane in the poem is Jane Kenyon. Ellen and Julia are friends. All three were lost to cancer much too young.
Waiting for Results
I am Jane. I am Ellen. I am Julia. I am
smoke in the throat,
blowing simple rings:
rising, rising, rising.
There she goes.
Then her. And her.
I said I would remember them
but will I?
What if the breast is guilty again.
Or the toe with its dirty cells.
What do you hope to achieve with your poetry?
Of course, the hope is that someone will be touched and/or helped by one of my poems. But the reality is — even if no one read my work — I would still feel compelled to write. It goes back to that idea of discovery and mystery.
In your opinion and from your experience, what are 3 things everyone can learn from poetry?
- You are not alone — others have shared your experience.
- Empathy — now I understand that person a little better.
- A new perspective — the aha moment of “I never thought of it like that.”
Based on your own experience and success, what are the “five things a poet needs to know to create beautiful and evocative poetry?” If you can, please share a story or example for each.
- Read — all kinds of poetry. Not all poems will resonate but you can study how poets throughout time have approached the art. Look at things like line breaks, syntax, punctuation, stanzas. How is the poem constructed? Does it deliver? An added tip: when your mind is dry and poems are not coming, it always helps to read: poetry, fiction, magazines, comics, cereal box. Often, a story, word or phrase will trigger an idea.
- Find a supportive community where you can share your work. Most poets, especially in the beginning, can benefit from honest, constructive feedback. Hearing and giving feedback on fellow poets’ work in workshops can be as important as receiving notes on your own poem. There is much to learn.
- Work on your craft: Develop your voice. Edit. Take risks. Send out your work. Get rejected. Make it better. Keep going.
- Learn traditional forms. Understand the basics of writing in meter and rhyme (i.e., sonnets, villanelles, blank verse, triolets and more). The confines of form can actually bring freedom and innovation. Learn the rules so you can break the rules. Look at how poets like Terrance Hayes and Diane Seuss are redefining the sonnet.
- Study the world. There is a lot of noise in our daily lives. Take a walk or a long drive. Find quiet and allow your mind to open. Watch and collect images. Trust you will know when and how to use them.
If you were to encourage others to write poetry, what would you tell them?
Start small. Write a single line. Then another. Don’t worry about self-editing at first. When you have something that intrigues you, find a fellow poet or group that you are comfortable with and share your work. Consider the feedback. Make adjustments that you feel match what you are trying to do. Keep reading and writing.
How would you finish these three sentences:
- Poetry teaches…empathy
- Poetry heals by… showing that others have experienced similar things and have survived
- To be a poet, you need to…read
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Entertainment, Business, VC funding, and Sports read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we both tag them :-)
Before the pandemic, I went to hear author Ann Patchett here in New Hampshire in conversation with NHPR’s Peter Biello. They talked about her latest book, The Dutch House, which I loved. In addition to being an amazing writer, Ann also co-owns Parnassus Books in Nashville, so she reads a lot. She was engaging, fascinating, funny, and accessible — who wouldn’t want to catch up with her over coffee or lunch?
How can our readers further follow your work online?
www.hobblebush.com/product-page/loosen
Thank you for this opportunity.
Thank you for these excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent. We wish you continued success.
