Writer's Series: Fast-Forward to the Past?
Two Poets Reflect on Memory in Virtual Writers' Series Event
By Dylan Deforge '20
On October 6th, poets Joseph Legaspi and Susan Rich delved into the importance of memory in poetry and expanded upon abstract concepts for Salem State’s Writers’ Series, hosted virtually on Zoom and mediated by Kevin Carey, coordinator of SSU’s Creative Writing program.
Legaspi began by reading three short poems from his chapbook, Postcards, which were inspired by poems he’d written on postcards sent to friends and family. One line that stuck in my head was from the poem “Mothering”: /Consorting with the sweetness of white lilacs/. He followed with two poems from his 2017 collection Threshold—“Our Mothers” and “At the Movies with My Mother” —in light of bitter arguments with his mother about the current political climate.
When Carey asked about “At the Movies with My Mother,” Legaspi said that for poets, the divide between magic and reality is blurry. The film references he made in the poem were not entirely accurate to his experiences; he swapped in other movies for the ones he actually saw, showing the distinction between simply using memory and taking memory to a new level by alteration.
Susan Rich talked about writing poems during the pandemic. The first poem she read was “Dear Wild Unknown,” an ode to the unknown chaos and spontaneity of the world, nostalgic for the memories before and plans cancelled due to Covid-19. Her last poem, “Shadow Artist,” was based on a memory about the strange eating habits of people in a hospital dining hall, but when Rich asked her sister about it, she couldn’t remember what she was talking about.
After readings from both authors, Carey initiated a series of audience questions. Legaspi talked about his memories of reading Robert Frost, one of his biggest writing influences, and how Frost’s work “held so much romance.” Rich talked about Elizabeth Bishop and remembered a chance opportunity to watch Denise Levertov give a reading, which inspired her pursuits as a female poet/writer.
Both Rich and Legaspi answered Kayma Snook’s question about what their feelings were on writing about people—family members, friends, (ex-)partners—whether they fear that their words about or accounts might be taken the wrong way. Legaspi took an introspective view, saying the hardest thing is portraying himself in a way he feels comfortable with. Rich was more lax about the idea, saying that she rarely needs to worry about the implications of her writing when it comes to family or former loved ones.
I asked Legaspi if there was a measure/ideal to keep in mind when writing poetry about sexuality. He warned about the “prescriptivist look” on sexuality—writing within the confines of societal expectations; what people “expect” a queer writer to cover—and he advised me to not go over large, broad subjects, but instead focus on personal minutiae. As a queer writer, I appreciated this advice and it taught me a more effective approach to broaching large subject matters like sexuality and gender expression in my poetry.
Prompted by Carey to read a bit more, Legaspi closed out with the poem “30,” which he wrote when he was 40, although it’s significant to mention that he came out officially when he was 30. Rich finished her reading with “What I Learned from Bewitched,” a poem that questions family ideals juxtaposed with the popular television show of the same name; and “Song at the End of the Mind,” another poem about the disillusionment of the pandemic.
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