CONTRIBUTOR SPOTLIGHT:
INTERVIEW WITH R. THURSDAY
Rappahannock Review Poetry Editors: People always question how those with “squirrel” moments come to a random idea, and your poem does an amazing job at showing how ideas that may not seem connected actually can be. We see that especially in the lines, “Which tempted bacon, which reminded me there were eggs to devil, a devil, / a spirit, a wraith, a ghost.” How did this kind of associative juxtaposition enter this poem?
R. Thursday: I wanted to capture the experience of an anxiety attack (or at least, my own experience), and racing, spiraling thoughts is a core component of that; a feeling that you are not in control of your own mind or body, where each new concept creates an entire web of connections but finding a coherent thread through them keeps slipping from you. Linguistic and conceptual connections are some of my favorite elements of writing, especially poetry, but they can take on a frustrating or stressful tinge when it feels like they are all escaping from you.
RR: We love that the only punctuation used is commas and dashes, and there are no periods until the very end. We felt a sense of urgency pulling us through the piece, racing through thoughts. Can you describe the process of creating this effect?
RT: Part of the process was simply me scribbling furiously before I lost the poem, it all felt like a single, explosive breath erupting over the page. The words/thoughts race without much stopping because I was writing without stopping. Most of my initial drafts end up being one long sentence and my editing process frequently involves returning to break up the ideas or play with form. With this poem, the form reinforced the concept and became another way to communicate the experience to the reader.
RR: We found the use of repetition in your poem to be impactful, creating a transformation of thought through the anaphora in lines such as “That is, I don’t know how to do one thing at a time – / That is, I feel that only doing one thing at a time is failure -.” What inspired the form and the repetition in this piece?
RT: I associate repeated thought forms/sentence frames with the beginning of an anxiety episode, it’s the rollercoaster pulling up the hill, a very late warning alarm. There is an urgency to explain, to make someone understand, even if that someone is only myself.
RR: We see from your bio that you are a middle school teacher. How do you create balance with writing outside of your profession? Do you share your work with your students?
RT: ‘Balance’ might be generous; I’m not sure I feel balanced in any aspect of my life. My job inspires a lot of my writing: both involve trying to communicate and connect, and improving my writing has made me a better teacher. Trying to get 8th graders interested in poetry can be a struggle but it’s a challenge I enjoy, especially when it can encourage agency and empathy. I tell my students when a piece of mine has been accepted (especially my more speculative/nerdy pieces), but I don’t usually have them look at the poems themselves.
RR: Are there any new creative or other exciting projects that you’re working on now that you can share with us?
RT: As this poem shows, I tend to have a lot going on but not much close to completion. I’m lucky enough to be part of a great Saturday writing group that keeps me creating and submitting, and I host a spoken word focused writing circle on Wednesdays over Discord (we do a very friendly, low pressure open mic as well; you can find us on Facebook at @RainCitySlam). Otherwise, just trying to stay connected in the safest way possible and hopefully putting words out into the world that nourishes someone.
R. Thursday’s work in Issue 8.3: