Poet Maggie Smith talks about her poem “The Mother” with poet and novelist Carrie Fountain.
Carrie Fountain
Matthew Zapruder
Poet and novelist Carrie Fountain talks with poet Matthew Zapruder about the collaboration that inspired his poem “Frankenstein Love” from his collection Come On All You Ghosts (2010).
Mahogany L. Browne
Poet Mahogany L. Browne joined poet and novelist Carrie Fountain to talk about how she came to poetry, to share one of her favorite poems by Hiwot Adilow, and to read her powerful poem, “Black Girl Magic.”
Sam Sax
Poet Sam Sax talks with poet and novelist Carrie Fountain about poetry as biography, the history of medician, poetry as performance, and so much more.
He also reads his poem “#Hypocondria” from his book Madness, and shares one of his favorite poems, “Katherine With The Lazy Eye. Short. And Not a Good Poet.” by Francine J. Harris.
Roger Reeves
“[Poetry] is the only place that I can defy the world,” said poet Roger Reeves when he spoke to poet Carrie Fountain and producer Rebecca McInroy for this edition of This is Just To Say. Thinking of poetry as a place and a practice, rather than the attempt to create the “perfect poem” was just one of the many revelations in their conversation.
Reeves also generously debuted his poem “Children, Listen” now available at poets.org, and he shared one of his favorite poems “Preliminary Question” by Aimé Césaire, from his book Solar Throat Slashed.
Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz
Best selling poet, writer, and slam performer Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz reads her poem “The First Check-Up After My Mother Died” from her book How To Love The Empty Air, and talks with poet and novelist Carrie Fountain about the possibility models for her as a poet, what it means to grieve with an audience, and the importance of the work of Kevin Young in her life.
Emmy Pérez
Poet Emmy Pérez reads her poem “Green Light Go” and talks with poet and novelist Carrie Fountain about living on the border as an act of resistance, the beauty of writing from anger, the healing power of the natural world, and much more.
Marie Howe
Poet Marie Howe reads and discusses her poem “One Day” with host poet and novelist Carrie Fountain. They talk about poetry as a spiritual practice, their time together at The Michener Center, and Lucie Brock-Broido‘s poem, “The American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act.”
Diane Seuss
Poet Diane Seuss talks with poet and novelist Carrie Fountain about how writing her poem “Song in My Heart” gave her strength after a devastating divorce.
Matthew Dickman
Poet Matthew Dickman reads from his new book of poems Wonderland and talks with poet and novelist Carrie Fountain about toxic masculinity, childhood, the origins of violence, and much more.
Aimee Nezhukumatathil
Poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil talks with poet and novelist Carrie Fountain about reclaiming the power, beauty, and wonder of a C-section birth through her poem “Self-Portrait as C-Section Scar.”
They also talk about Nezhukumatathil’s entry point into poetry through the work of Naomi Shihab Nye, and she shares one of her favorite poems, “Eclipse” from poet Jenny George’s debut book, The Dream of Reason.
Tomás Q. Morín
Poet Tomás Q. Morín reads his poem “For My Daughter” from his collection Patient Zero, and talks with poet and novelist Carrie Fountain about experiencing loss, the power of imagining the unlived life, and the vulnerability it takes to create as a poet and an artist.
This is Just to Say: Trailer
Poet and novelist Carrie Fountain talks with poets about the poem they make and the poems they love. We hope you like the show. Please leave us a review and tell us what you think.
Thank you, Rebecca McInroy-producer
Carrie Fountain
Always Remain a Beginner
Interviews on the Write Up come out more as conversations than a scripted line of questioning. The authors who are featured bring their own spirit and personality into the discussion and the conversation spins to wonderfully surprising places. Our episode with award-winning poet Carrie Fountain is a perfect example. Talking with Fountain is like grabbing a coffee with a dear friend you who leaves you feeling thrilled and more awake to the world about you.
During our talk, Fountain and I explore parenting, mysticism, craft, and her extraordinary new poetry collection Instant Winner. Whether it’s writing her next poem or facing a new parenting challenge, Fountain strives to “always remain a beginner.”
Carrie Fountain’s poems are prayers. Like prayers they carry the earthbound to heaven. Her poems are born from daily life — experiences of motherhood, marriage, traffic and trash trucks – but quickly rise up to questions of spirit and desires for divine connection.
Fountain earned her MFA at the James A. Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas at Austin where she began work on what would become her debut collection Burn Lake. That book received the 2009 National Poetry Series winner and was published in 2010 by Penguin.
Her latest collection, Instant Winner, is a sly prayer book of winking meditations and wry observations. Fountain has a gift for finding the miraculous in the mundane, the tremendous in the ordinary. Capturing a fragment of life, a passing moment, Fountain highlights the endless magic moments that fill an average day. Like the best of poetry, her pieces inspire new views on a world we believe we know.
Balancing a family and a writing career can be an incredible trial. Fountain and I chat about becoming a mother and how that has impacted her life and poetry. Fountain is married to acclaimed playwright Kirk Lynn. We chat about how a household of two creatives works and how the two have inspired, supported, and challenged each other.
Fountain has taught at the university level for several years and is now the writer-in-residence at St. Edward’s University. We chat about mentoring younger poets and her love for poets who have inspired her.
Much of poetry in Instant Winner describes encounters with the spiritual. Fountain shares some her own experiences with organized religion and where she stands now on questions of faith, God, and religion. She also discusses the role writing poetry plays in her spiritual life.
We touch upon Fountain’s own process in approaching writing: When she writes, how she seeks inspiration, and the discipline needed to sculpt a career in the arts. She also gives us a peek at how she approaches a blank page. Fountain hopes her style never outshines her poem, instead she aims for what she calls an “invisible craft.”
So brew a cup of coffee, pull up a chair, and join us for a conversation on this edition of The Write Up.