By Jennifer Franklin
You slouch in the large chair, legs crossed.
Nobody watches—unconcerned with posture
or other irrelevant conventions.
Preparing to write is that exquisite
and terrible state where even to breathe
too loudly could distract from the truth
just forming in the electric corner of the brain.
Once you glimpse what you want to convey,
it flees like a sparrow flitting from the silver birch
after feeding. The trace of revelation still hovers
and is about to become as clear as a newly washed
glass, shining in the sunlight, streaming through
the kitchen window. Once the sentences are written,
they will stave off utter despair, for at least three days.
The Importance of Arts, Culture & The Creative Process
As Audre Lorde wrote, "poetry is not a luxury. It is a vital necessity of our existence. It forms the quality of the light within which we predicate our hopes and dreams toward survival and change, first made into language, then into idea, then into more tangible action." I believe art is more important than ever. It fosters empathy, provkes thought, and inspires change.
What was the inspiration for your creative work?
I am writing a book about the creative process of women writers and artists, namely Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath, and Lucia Joyce.
Tell us something about the natural world that you love and don’t wish to lose.
Other than the time I spend indoors reading and looking at art, my most important memories are my experiences in the natural world, walking the Cape Cod beach in winter, hiking to Parga Castle & the Parthenon in Greece, walking through the cemetery where Keats is buried in Rome, walking my dog in Riverside Park or picking apples in Princeton with my daughter and husband. The reversals of environmental protections will have distarous consequences for our country, the world, and the planet and I hope that the next election will correct these irresponsible and dire decisions.
