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

I’ve been out of the poetry scene for a few years for a variety of reasons, so I didn’t have appropriately themed poems to submit for this. Alan was very keen that I get involved, so I wrote specifically to the prompt, which was obviously surrounding the theme of nature.

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

It’s a narrative poem with elements of abstract. This is my usual style, and an approach that I am most comfortable and familiar with. It’s also a form that I love most because it passes the buck to the reader and challenges them with their perceptions and assertions.

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

All of my poems use shape and form to impact meaning and challenge the reader to perceive the words and phrases in different ways. My formatting is often jagged and somewhat of a sideways Manhattan structure on the page. I also incorporate space too, because space often says so much. I’ve utilised all of the above in my poem “night theatre”, which is in this inaugural edition of The Whiskey Tree.

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

I loved the idea that the stillness of night could be theatrical in its own way … hence night theatre.

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

Imagery is always important in my work. I love to craft images that are unexpected or out-of-the-box. Narrative is always important too. In ‘night theatre’ the pervading narrative is one of leaving and the wilderness that it brings.

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

I love the fact that it is last. I feel the last poem carries a weight of responsibility because it is the final impression that the reader gets of the collection, but I think it’s fitting since the very last line is ‘our wilderness’.

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

I would hope my poem would spark curiosity of some sort, however that manifests itself within the reader. I just hope that my writing stimulates thought and reflection in some way.

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