Interview with Cheryl Denise

Interview

What did you get your degree in and where did you get it?

I got my degree in Nursing, at Conestoga College, in Guelph, Ontario, a small school. I think there were around 100 students in the RN program. The nurses had their own campus, one day a week we went to the main campus for our sciences.

When did you first start writing poetry? How did you become interested in poetry?

I wrote a bit in high school, but really got going after college. Writing was a way to get my emotions out and a way to figure out what was going on inside. I mostly wrote when I was angry, but then I figured out I liked writing and got into a habit, and I had a roommate who encouraged me to write and who liked to listen to my poems.

How has your writing evolved, especially between your first and second book? 

Hard one. I like to think my "voice" has gotten more refined, more reflective or thoughtful, the questions and the pondering deeper and more complex, I'm less afraid (see "Mother of Paradise"), and I still can't quite believe I had the nerve to publish “Shearing." I've never read Shearing at a reading -- and probably never will.

What themes and images do you focus on when writing? 

Whatever comes to mind: farming, spirituality, relationships, my past, whatever is going on in my life and occasionally news stories.

What does your writing/revising process usually look like?

I'm a big fan of Natalie Goldberg’s book Writing Down the Bones. I usually read a few good poems by other people, have a hot drink, then free write whatever comes to mind, and write as fast as I can for at least four or five pages, then I'll give that piece a rest. [I’ll] come back to it and see if there's anything good in it, and if, so work and work and work on it, [and] then I'll take it to some good poet friends and they'll tell me where the problems are, [then] I'll take it home and rewrite, and then take it back to my poet friends.

How does your Mennonite background influence your writing? Does your work as a nurse influence your poetry? If so, how? 

I think being Mennonite is just part of who I am, I can't compartmentalize that out of my writing. Funny, though, I definitely can take the nurse out of me when I write. Seldom do I write about my job or nursing in general.

Do you have a favorite poet or writer? 

George Ella Lyon from Kentucky, Stephen Dunn, Gregory Orr and Julia Spicher Kasdorf.

Who has influenced your work the most? 

I think living in West Virginia and hearing West Virginian poets like Kirk Judd, who tell story-like poems: easy to understand, rhythmic, and who read out loud -- Kirk wears overalls and is a mountain man and one of the best poets I know -- you wouldn't think he's a poet [when you] look at him.

How long did it take you to write I Saw God Dancing and What’s in the Blood? What was the publishing process like? 

Each book took about five years to put together; not like it was a plan, but just the happening of it. I love to get criticism from my poet friends in my revising process, but getting criticism from someone you don't know, haven't met, out there on the publishing company's board, boy that's hard and can feel very hurtful and personal. Michael King [of Cascadia Publishing] himself was great to work with, and it felt like with the first book that he knew everything about me. The first time I met him in person my husband told me not to get all mushy and hug him and start crying, as our relationship was a professional one and I didn't really know him and he didn't really know me, which was true and yet weird. Oh, and the process feels so slow. By the time the book comes out the poems feel old; I have new poems by then.

Can you go into more detail about the publishing process? What was different between the two books? 

For the first book, my publisher liked it but since poetry books don't make a publisher rich he said he'd have to wait to consider my manuscript as he had published two books of poetry recently (one being by Ann Hostetler, Empty Room with Light), so he was waiting to see if those two books did good on sales and then he'd consider mine. I forget how long a wait period it was, I think almost a year. Then Cascadia Publishing House had Jean Janzen act as my editor -- so she read the manuscript, made comments, asked that I consider deleting a few poems which she felt did not have a universal appeal, and then I took her comments and made changes and added a few new poems; and when [we] agreed on a final manuscript, then Michael King, the publisher, was okay with that and it went to press.

For the second book, Jeff Gundy was the hired poetry editor for Cascadia -- so Jeff and I worked back and forth a bit till we agreed on a final manuscript.  This took several months, and there was a waiting period after that even as Cascadia only publishes a poetry book every so often since they are not the money makers.

Interviews, Reviews and Articles about Cheryl Denise
 Bishop, Jim. "W.Va. Poet to Read Works at EMU - EMU News | Eastern Mennonite University." EMU News. Eastern Mennonite University, 6 Feb. 2008. Web. 29 Sept. 2013.

Ervin, Carol. "Novelists Should Read Poetry." Carol Ervins Author Site. Wordpress, 7 Jan. 2013. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.

 James, Sonja. "Denise's Latest Book Explores 'What's in the Blood.'" The Journal. The Journal, 4 Jan. 2013. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.

 Janzen, Rhoda. "Recent Mennonite Poetry: A Review Essay." Mennonite Quarterly Review 81.1 (2007): n. pag. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.

"Local Poet Releases Book, CD." The InterMountain. The InterMountain, 20 Apr. 2012. Web. 29 Sept. 2013.