Q:1. How did you decide on what poems to send?

I took a chance on a poem that came from a dream. I had always liked it because it framed a moment and a feeling for me, and I wanted to see if it would resonate with anyone else. I love that it did!

Q:2. What poetic form did it take, and why?

No particular choice was made, but I could see it needed to be two stanzas as it evolved because I wanted to break the poem into two different parts with a definite pause to it.

I changed the line breaks when I spotted that some of the images I had originally seen as one thing spoiled the look on the page. They also slowed the poem down when split, which made it a win-win!

Q:3. How did you use the whiteness of the page in your poem?

I was happy with the way the two stanza format sat on the page. I hadn’t planned for the lines to make it look jagged, but I rather liked this when I noticed and felt it reflected the antlers!

Q:4. How did you decide on the title of your poem?

I took the main image from the poem and used this like a label for the title. I asked myself if I would read a poem with this title to check it worked.

Q:5. Imagery, or narrative. Which was more important to you in writing the poem?

For me there always has to be a narrative and a story based meaning in my poetry, but I like to be as sharp as I can on the images with the hope the reader gets a glimpse of what it looks like to me. Narrative comes naturally to me, but I have to check my imagery.

Q:6. What do you think of where your poem is placed in the collection?

I just love the fact it is there.

Q:7. Once they have read your poem, what do you hope the reader will leave with?

A desire to read it again. A sense of the layers to the poem.

Bios and Links

Sue Finch’s

first poetry collection, ‘Magnifying Glass’, was published in 2020, and her second full collection is due to be published in Spring 2024. Her poems have also appeared in a number of online magazines. She loves the coast, peculiar things and the scent of ice-cream freezers. ‘Vortex Over Wave’ was published in 2023 and features a selection of her #ElasticBandPhotos and poems for the full moon. You can often find her on Twitter @soopoftheday.