As an atheist who grew up with a church community, I sometimes wish it were possible to reclaim the ritual and social aspects of religion without the beliefs. Years ago, when Spark + Echo Arts approached me about writing a poem in response to a Bible verse, I embraced the opportunity to engage with the Bible as a poet. As I wrote in a statement, “In my poem, the brokenhearted speaker does not know if anyone can hear her. For me, there is no turn from agony to faith; there is only a dangling question, but there is also the urge to stretch the limits of what is possible through art.”
|
|
|
"The Luminous Life: Our Twentieth Annual Look at Debut Poets"
“In marking the two decades this magazine has spent celebrating emerging poets, we have ten writers who remind us of poetry as illumination, alchemy, medicine. Poets who prove that care—deep attention to all beings (of the past, present, and future)—is still the greatest connective tissue binding us all, invisible though it may feel at times, and that it can still unite author and reader in word and thought and, yes, spirit. ”
viaPOETS & WRITERS |
|
|
What Sparks Poetry:
Octavio Quintanilla on Drafts
"I write and rewrite the poem over and over because small but significant changes happen in the process, especially in terms of the poem earning my trust and having me believe in what it says. To get there, I rewrite the poem till every word is embodied with breath or heartbeat....As I rewrite, I teach myself my own poem. Internalize it." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
