Tuesday, January 28, 2025

Interview with Poet Constanze Hawkins



1. What are your two poetry books about? In ‘Eloise and Other Verses’ ‘Dance Cockie Dance’, ‘Moving House’, ‘Daybreak’, ‘-----Untitled-----’ and the longer poems are about characters experiencing loss and sometimes about the effect loss has on them. For example, the narrator in ‘David’ is overcome with grief at the loss of a young friend in tragic circumstances.  I also write about nature, human and natural.  In most of the poems we get a glimpse of the nature of the participants. In ‘Two Suitors’ we see Sonia’s self-searching honesty, Jack’s somewhat careless free spirit and Russell’s reliability and thoughtfulness among others. There is a poem about ‘Gums’, the sea (‘Memories’) and space (‘Father Time’) and some others. ‘Inspirations’ is about the thoughts and feelings inspired by photographs I took of the natural world. 

2. What inspired the writing of each one? In ‘Eloise and Other Verses’ I write about loss and nature, human and natural. I was inspired to write about loss upon reflecting about the deaths of my parents and that of my older sister at a relatively young age and the breakup of my marriage. So, I wrote about a variety of losses and portrayed in my writing the effect loss has on characters’ natures.  The natural world has always interested me so I was naturally inspired to write about it in poems especially about what I had experienced of it or intertwined in poems about loss. ‘Inspirations’ was inspired by photographs I took mostly around the campus of the University of Western Australia. I find the peaceful gardens there a joy and very inspiring. 

3. Eloise and Other Verses seems so serious. Why is the handling of loss so challenging to us? Perhaps the handling of loss is so challenging because it and all that comes with it cannot be avoided. We all do or will experience loss at some point; often at a very young age with the loss of a loved one or a loved pet. The memory of loss can be heart wrenching. We learn that loss is final and that it can leave an unfillable emptiness in our souls. The memory or thought of this is disturbing. The is nothing can be done about loss and it signals the end of hope for that that involves that particular chapter of our lives. Loss brings about grief. Perhaps the pain of this is something we do not want to visit or revisit. 

4. Whereas Inspirations features a shorter book of single-page poetry, the poems of Eloise and Other Verses are so much longer. What role does the length of a poem play in how it us experienced? In my writing the varying demands regarding interpretation may impact a reader’s experience of reading and length is not a concern. Obviously the more readable a poem is the more enjoyable it will be for me. The two longest poems in ‘Eloise and Other Verses’ do not make to great a demand on readers. Characters can be seen to develop, settings easily imagined and narratives readily followed. The word images in the short poems in ‘Inspirations’ are easily imagined and interpreted with the experience of the photographs and the rhyming couplet endings. However, three of the four middle length poems (‘Mother Mother Magna Mater’ is not included) are more obscure. They ask more from readers. Putting the word pictures into a cohesive whole is more difficult. 

5. You often write of nature, weather, and the seasons in Inspirations. What is it about things like winter, the ocean, or a sunset that inspire your poetry? Winter can be so invigorating. The cold sometimes wet wind blowing in my face while I am snug and warm in my coat and winter woolies. I love the sound of rain or storms on the roof while I am safe and warm inside. I love the rolling, smashing wage of the ocean’s back beaches and the calmer, quieter waters of the bay beaches. I love the way I leave foot prints in the wet sand as I walk along the sea’s shorelines. I like the way sun sinks lower and lower over the ocean in burning skies until it disappears completely leaving a fading glow behind. It reminds me that another day has passed and that a new day is not far away. 

6. You are not only a poet, but a talented photographer. Why do your images accompany the poems in Inspirations but not in Eloise and Other Verses? How do your photos impact the reader’s experience? Images accompany the poems in ‘Inspirations’ because that was my idea for the book. It was not my idea for the poems in ‘Eloise and Other Verses’. My idea for the images ‘Inspirations’ was that they would each inspire a poem. One cannot separate the images from the poems. They need to be experienced in conjunction with one another. If the reader first reflects on each photograph, then begins to read its poem referring back to the photos now and again during a reading the photos (and poems) will have the greatest impact on the reader.  In such a reading the images will inspire a greater understanding and appreciation of the poem. It will also enhance the enjoyment of the photo and poems. 

7. Are the poems autobiographical? The only autobiographical poem I have written in ‘An Autobiography’ in ‘Eloise and Other Verses’. The two longest poems in the same book ‘Eloise’ and ‘Two Suitors’ are semi-autobiographical. They are set in places I have visited and that I have known well. And I did have a holiday job at the Koala Café on the ‘island’ (Phillip Island in Victoria). The narrative are fiction. Though many of the other poems in ‘Eloise and Other Verses’ and all the poems in ‘Inspirations’ are not autobiographical I have written them about nature, and that contain snippets of life both of which I have experience. This applies to the poems that were inspired by people. ‘David’, ‘-----Untitled-----‘, and ‘Dance Cockie Dance’.  

8. You grew up in Australia. How did that influence some of your writings, The most enduring impact that growing up in Australia had on me and my writing was the love it instilled in me for the Australian bush, it’s beaches and sunsets. Our home was near a creek and much bushland and I spent many happy hours playing and roaming there among the gumtrees, blackberry bushes and bulrushes when I was a child. We often went to beaches where I enjoyed swimming and looking out over the wide expanse of the ocean and walking along the watery shoreline. I found the sunsets over the broad Australian horizons enthralling and beautiful. I have written about the ocean, sunsets and gumtrees and I often include images of these in my writing.  

9. How might we move more people to be open to reading poetry? I think we could move more people to be open to reading poetry by doing the following; Book retailers could promote poetry more and display poetry books more prominently in their stores.  I think readers find poetry difficult reading. So, we could help readers realize that they do not need to find some hidden meaning in poetry but that they can interpret poetry for themselves; see in it what they do. It they are more relaxed about reading poetry they might enjoy it more.  

 

Do You Need Book Marketing & PR Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with over four million page views, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors like you to promote your story, sell your book, and grow your brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

About Brian Feinblum

This award-winning blog has generated over four million pageviews. With 5,000+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.”  Copyright 2025.

 

For the past three decades, Brian Feinblum has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and as the director of publicity at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler.

 

His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully).

 

He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. He served as a judge for the 2024 IBPA Book Awards.

 

His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.

 

Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog.

 

You can connect with him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum/ or https://www.facebook.com/brian.feinblum

 

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.