In her new collection of poetry, “Loosestrife for Porcupines,” D M Gordon explores the grand scheme of things and our place in it and our search for joy. In this article, D M talks about the story behind the title, the theme of the book, and offers some advice for those looking to launch their own story.
Visit www.dmgordon.com for more information.
What is the story behind the title of the book?
"Here where I live, the long field is all. Loosestrife for porcupines, timothy for deer. For the cruising hawk, restless mice with adorable ears. Mice for the lanky wild dog. Mice for owls. They need to keep swarms of pink babies coming, mice do... Vultures arrive on a scent-trail, sky-high and valley-wide... Blood-fed ticks nourish wild turkeys and possums... rosehips for almost everyone..."
Purple loosestrife is invasive. Fringed loosestrife also grows in the long field, edible for porcupines. I was hoping for a deeper balance where porcupines ate the invasive. They eat the other but still, the ecosystem is all.
Is there an overall message or theme to the book?
The poems explore what David Attenborough expounds, that "we need to...remember we have no greater right to be on the planet than any other animal." From capybara to crows, spiders, horses, dogs, or goldfish, all of us live our complicated points of view, each according to each. Without being reductive, without judgement, the poems question our place in the grand scheme of everything, the difficulties we make for ourselves and our search for joy. It's life on the planet, from subatomic particles to the great insect chorus, the startling black of bears to shifting continental shelves, how we are connected.
Were the poems written all at once, or does this book incorporate older works?
They were written over time, not all at once. For me, poems don't plop out a dime a dozen, even with daily practice. A great poem, for which we are forever reaching, is one that is unique, specific, timeless and universal. A collection of poems requires patience, the surprises of lived experience—even if it's not autobiographical, even if it's about other lives. A poetry book grows and deepens with passing time. A long marinade enriches the final stew.
Do any of the poems stand out among the others? If so, why?
That's a harder question for the writer to answer than the reader. What stands out for me won't be the same as for you. Here, "Good Enough" describes the serene death gifted to a beloved horse, It's about the joy of life in death. "The Rapture," is a fable about the day God calls his faithful to heaven, ending with an unexpected turn. It focuses on the actions of one of the tiniest animals on what some thought was going to be The Last Day, emblematic of the ecosphere and our place in it.
For the readers who are trying to get their own book started, what’s your advice?
Keep the practice; stay open to wonder, what's uniquely yours to witness. Write frequently. If you lay a piece of paper on the floor, it's just a piece of paper. If you lay a new piece every day, slowly you build a tower. Build the tower. When you write, don't control it—daydream with images spindling through your fingertips, but don't construct, not at first. There will be time later. Read excellent writing, read widely—the sciences, the humanities, classic and new. Don't be a writer only writing about writing. Resist the siren call of AI. Turn off your smartphone.
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