Martina "Mick" Powell will be reading at Difficult to Name in Milford, CT on July 10.
What is your process like when you work on a poem?
A poem for me usually starts with a single image or a short line that I toss around in my head endlessly until I can sit down with it and explore its meaning. And since I sketch/doodle/aimlessly scrawl on paper often, I’ll write down the image/line over and over again until the world of the poem is sort of revealed to me. Sometimes the full poem comes instantly, but sometimes I spend weeks or even years with the same image floating within me without a place to land. As for when I’m actually working on the poem, I’m in it, deeply invested in exploring it, following its trajectory.
Any big summer plans?
I just returned from a really fantastic and transformative writing retreat (Juniper Institute at UMass Amherst), which was one of my major summer plans. Juniper really spurred a cool book idea for me, so I’ll be working on those poems and collages this summer. Other than that, I’ll spend the season planning my upcoming wedding!
What can people expect from your reading?
People can expect for me to be dressed fabulously and to read poems that might make them a little squeamish (in the best way imaginable)!