3 Questions with Maggie Warren

Maggie Warren writes poems about love and toads. She currently teaches first-year writing at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She has work published by Tanka Journal, Empty Mirror, and Barrelhouse. She also has work forthcoming in Hayden’s Ferry Review. You can find more of her work at maggiewarren.com.

Poetry Editor Cecilia Savala talks with Maggie about their work from Issue 73, out now!

Your use of the diminutive seems to convey a special tone of vulnerability. Can you talk more about the relationship between the creatures in your poems and the intended effect on your audience?

There is so much love between them; I see them as helpers. I want the creatures in my poems to be invitations and comforts to my readers. My creatures are often misunderstood, yet because of this shared experience, there’s always a deep level of care between them and from them. I think of them as my fellow misfits and hope to invite readers to find kinship with them.

There’s also an underlying thrum of ritual within the language you use in your poems. What kind of ritual(s) do you employ when in your writing space?

I tend to find one song or a handful that I play over and over again while I let my poem’s ideas and images swim around in my head. Lately it's been a lot of Imogen Heap. This is often paired with movement: I find it very freeing to dance around my apartment, expel any energy that doesn’t serve the poem, or cultivate the energy I need. However, sometimes, what I need is a nap and time to ruminate on the idea before I try to unravel it.

Is there anything you’d like to share about your poem, “Elegy to a Young Friend,” that we don’t know?

Thank you for asking this question! I wrote this poem about a really good friend of mine named Nathaniel. He passed away just before we graduated high school, yet I continue to feel enlivened by Nathaniel's deep appreciation for my writing and love of music. In fact, I would encourage people to read this poem out loud if they feel called to, as the sound is very much a part of it. There was a lot of musicality in our friendship, and it feels like a gift that I’m able to keep alive in poetry.