Q&A with poet Lisa Stice

Describe your “writer-self” in three words.

Quiet, inspired, observant.

What is the most challenging aspect about writing for you?

Since the pandemic started, it’s been difficult for me to keep a regular writing schedule. For a long while before, I wrote a poem a day. Grant it, they weren’t always keepers, but my mind and creative spirit was always in poet-mode. I thrive on relationships and talking with people, and so being isolated has made it difficult for me to generate new poems. Not writing many new poems has given me ample time to revise and organize my previously written pieces, and so I still feel productive and connected to writing.

Where, when and how are you inspired to write?

When it comes to the poems I write about my daughter (Saoirse) and/or dog (Seamus), that inspiration comes write in the moment. My daughter will say something or my dog will do something, and I have to put it into words. I keep little notebooks and scrap paper all over the house and in my purse (in case I’m not at home). Other poems might come to me — usually late at night — when I’m reflecting on an experience I had that day, or a conversation I had with someone, or something I read recently.

What are you reading right now?

I’m lucky to be reading Eric Chandler’s soon-to-be-released poetry collection Kekekabic and I’m reading another soon-to-be-released poetry collection. The second is a secret; I was asked to write a blurb for it. I just finished reading Randy Brown’s chapbook So Frag & So Bold and am reading Matilda with my daughter. Next up is Bebe Ashley’s Gold Light Shining (for my individual reading) and Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (for co-reading with my daughter).

Best piece of writing advice you’ve received?

Don’t try to sound like a poet. Be your own voice.

If you could tell your younger writer-self anything, what would it be?

Don’t be afraid to share your poems. For several years, I wrote without attempting to submit my poems anywhere. I just kept them all to myself. At first, it’s a little scary to know that people will have access to your feelings and secrets, but poems are meant to be shared. If they just stay in a journal, they don’t get to do what poems are supposed to do, which is help people communicate and connect with each other.

Which poet or character from a book/movie would you invite to dinner and why?

Well, if it’s dinner, I’d want a character who’s fun and cheery and who would foster lively conversations, so I’d pick Anne Shirley from the Anne of Green Gables books. I read those books over and over again when I was a kid and always felt Anne and I were “kindred spirits.”

Any advice for budding writers who are trying to get their work out into the world?

Read literary journals. Without reading journals, you’ll never know which ones are good fits for your writing. When your submission is rejected, don’t give up. It might not have been a good fit or the right timing, or it could also mean your writing needs a little more work before it’s ready for publication.