Since 2007 we have invited contributors featured in our annual Introductions Loop to comment on their creative process. This year, Ciera Burch, Holli Carrell, Emily Chiles, Sarah Golin, Zach Hester, Joey Kingsley, Gwen E. Kirby, and Amy O’Reilly step up to the task.
Ciera Burch Ancestral and Maternal Connection as Creative Forces A lot of my writing process comes from simply sitting and observing. As an introvert, I’ve always preferred watching people to engaging with them . . . |
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Holli Carrell On “Two Women” and Process Most of my poems begin with images. I am less interested in narrative; I prefer the strange, the weird: poetry that releases me . . . |
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Emily Chiles Becoming Dorothy When I was small it was the red sparkly shoes, and how she clicked her heels together, lightly, just so. Later, it was the way she leaned back against the hay, dreaming . . . |
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Sarah Golin Wading into the Stream For me, writing is about trying to leap between the particularities of a very small moment . . . and the larger forces of nature and time. |
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Zach Hester Real Bananas and MoonPie I am drawn to the holy, the scientific, and the wildly grotesque landscapes of the American psyche, and I am most interested in where these three converge. |
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Joey Kingsley Sites of Exchange Both aimless and purposeful, walking sounds the rhythm of heartbeats and breath, iambic footfalls that lend sonnets their rhythms. For much of my life, I’ve traveled on foot . . . |
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Gwen E. Kirby Lining My Nest When it comes to inspiration for a story, I’m a bit of a magpie. I feel like I’m always drawn to the object or person out of place . . . |
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Amy O’Reilly Block by Block, Line by Line I’ve heard that many people do their best thinking in the shower. I do my best thinking pushing a stroller. If you live in my neighborhood, you’ve probably seen me talking to myself . . . |
Introductions texts appear in different sections of Blackbird but are organized in this alternative menu, a featured reading loop allowing easy navigation of related material.
A link to this “Introductions Reading Loop” menu appears at the bottom of every Introductions-related
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