Mary Ann Samyn on My Life in Heaven

Many thinks to Lisa Russ Spaar, author of several gorgeous collections of poetry, including most recently Vanitas, Rough, and of the essay collection The Hide-and-Seek Muse, for “tagging” me for The Next Big Thing. I keep getting confused and calling it The Next Best Thing, or even Next-best, but in any case, here are some thoughts about my latest book, My Life in Heaven, just out from Oberlin College Press.

Q: Where did the idea come from for the book?

Though I don’t think of ideas as the origin of poems, I can say that the images and sensations and language that I attend to come from my daily life.

Q: What genre does your book fall under?

The book “falls under” poetry—which sounds rather dramatic, doesn’t it?

Q: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Oh dear. I don’t think I’d consent to that. But I have always liked Natalie Wood, especially in This Property Is Condemned.

Q: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

It’s quite lovely to come to know oneself.

Q: Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

The book won the 2012 FIELD Poetry Prize and was published by Oberlin College Press.

Q: How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

These poems were written from early spring 2009 through August 2010.

Q: Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I’m inspired by everyone who and everything that weaves in and out of my daily life.

Q: What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Oh, I don’t know…there’s a feather on the cover…feathers are intriguing…they’re about time, right? Before and after. Beauty. Generosity. Happenstance.

Again: thanks to Lisa, always an inspiration. Her post can be found here

And now it’s my turn to tag:

Read about Kelly Moffett’s next big thing here.