Second installment of our new quarterly interview series at Up the Staircase Quarterly! The Landing: An Interview Series “seeks to gain insight into the diverse creative processes of some of our favorite writers with the hopes that we can inspire others through this sharing. ”
Lisa Martin, whose poem “If You Really Aren’t a Racist Take This Online Test” was published earlier this year as part of Rattle‘s Poets Respond:
I will no sooner surrender my paradoxes.
Than what. The answer is either “Love”
or “Systemic Racism” or something my
friend, refreshing the screen, keeps trying
to see before he falls asleep in videos of
human beings blown to smithereens.
I don’t know if he is looking for evidence
of brutish truth or proof of his own flesh
or resilience in the face of it. …
Lisa discusses how to write responsibly when engaging in public conversations about complex problems, the experience of writing for Poets Respond, and advice on writing topical poetry. Read our interview here.
Rhiannon Thorne 