In conversation with – Kathryn Reese

Was there an incident or story behind either of these poems?

Post-vespers was written after a conversation with a friend of mine. He was observing that some of us who’ve come out of formal faith communities have a residual compulsion to pray…the question of “what is prayer now” resonated with me deeply. 

Describe your writing process. Are you a planner or a pantser, do you prefer to write in quiet or amid noise, do you write most effectively when you are working through a pain or sorrow or when calm and happy? Do you start with wisps or fragments or have a general sense of whole structure before going in?

The poem Prompt is a good description of my process. I’ll have an idea or prompt or fragment of a poem simmering away all day & I’ll check on it as many times as I can. Sometimes I’m waiting for the next line to “drop in”, sometimes I’m fidgeting obsessively. But there’s a sense that the poem is a thing/being waiting to be discovered or interacted with, rather than “written”. 

It probably comes from both places but do you believe you write more from the head or heart?

It’s a weaving together. The secret third thing for me is the body. For me writing is a very somatic experience. I mostly write while walking and often have a sense of where and how the poem is affecting my body, whether it’s calming me or exciting me or where there might be resistance to saying a thing. 

Is there a type of writing you’d like to do more of? Is there a kind of writing you’d like to see more of?

Collaborative writing. Whether that’s writing groups or sharing prompts online or two or more writers contributing to the same piece. I love the ways ideas spark and move when shared between us. I love the way writing in a safe community can give us the courage to write things we otherwise might not write. And I love the friendships that develop between writers. There’s often a special sort of intimacy, I think, like when you’ve shared the same water bottle.