CONTRIBUTOR SPOTLIGHT:
Interview with Bryana Fern

Rappahannock Review Poetry Editors: There’s so much comedy that works well in “Handing Over (II),” but you also layer in those more serious, emotional tones– did you originally intend for this to be such a funny poem? How did you develop the balance in those tones?

Bryana Fern: I wasn’t necessarily thinking about comedy in the beginning. Animals are just so funny and comical all on their own, you know? I was always aiming for the end, and wanted to juxtapose it early on.

RR: The dynamic you created between the college-aged speaker and this stray cat was so delightful to read. What was it like developing that relationship, and what inspired it?

BF: To answer question five with this one, Maddie was a stray cat near my office building, yes. She was with her sister, and they were both incredibly friendly. There were a few others as well, and I gave them all M names. I found a narrative voice for this poem, but I used the imagery of my own interactions with her in particular. She and her sister, Margot, were my serotonin between classes and office hours.

RR: Lines 18-25 of this piece really stuck with us in our discussion, especially the lines with the balloon imagery. How do you feel these lines reflect your own thoughts on the concept of choosing to love in spite of potential loss?

BF: I find I would rather love animals and risk betrayal or loss from them than risk it from people. There’s a lightness in my chest whenever I see them, and all I want is to protect them. But I can’t just rescue all the feral cats I find, and I know that even though I hate accepting it. An air balloon has to come down at some point—it will crash if you don’t start the descent at the right time…if you don’t leave the clouds. There’s a recklessness in loving things.

RR: What advice do you have for writers when it comes to using a light-hearted tone while trying to explore more emotionally complex themes in their writing?

BF: Less is always more, I’ve learned. Accuracy of detail can go a long way if you don’t try so hard. I always want to write more, and then I go back and cut mercilessly. Kill your darlings, and all that. Whenever I’ve been found funny in my writing, it’s from times when I wasn’t attempting to be.

RR: This piece definitely got us talking about our own “campus animals” and it left me curious–is there a cat that inspired you to create “Maddie”?

BF: Photo included: