An interview with Terrence Abrahams

Terrence Abrahams lives and writes quietly in Toronto. His second and third poetry chapbooks are forthcoming this year with ZED Press and baseline press. Find him on Twitter at @trabrahams.

How did you begin writing, and what keeps you going?

I’ve been writing since childhood. I “published” several issues of my own magazine between the ages of 9 and 10, complete with articles, interviews, short stories, and advice columns. The magazine was aimed at cats.

I only recently read something Mary Oliver wrote in her essay collection, Upstream. She said, “attention is the beginning of devotion.” If that’s the case, I’ve been beginning my whole life, and I don’t plan on stopping. That keeps me going.

With your second and third poetry chapbooks to appear by the end of the year, do you feel your process of putting together a manuscript has evolved? How do you decide on the shape and size of a manuscript?

My process for putting together is organic. All that has evolved is my sense of what should be or shouldn’t be included in a manuscript, what makes or breaks the theme or tone. Since I tend to write towards a loose but overarching narrative, I want my poems to tell a story of a place, a feeling, or both, and I keep this in my pocket as I begin putting a manuscript together.

To put it simply, if my writing was a shape, it would be round.

What poets have influenced the ways in which you write?

Many, too many to comfortably list here. I am interested in directness, and in deceptively simple works. No poem is simple; some just appear to be so.

To name some names: Anne Carson make me think; Souvankham Thammavongsa tells me to pay attention; Danez Smith encourages honesty; Lily Wang wants me to dream; Cameron Awkward-Rich offers imagery; Jos Charles says to experiment; and Mary Oliver says, live!

I also like any and all poems that are green.

How important has mentorship been to your work? Is there anyone who specifically assisted your development as a writer?

I’ve taken only two formal classes involving creative writing; poetry with A. F. Moritz, and fiction with Lauren Kirshner. Other than that, my mentor is the collective encouragement my friends offer me. Their love is everything to me and my work.

What are you currently working on?

I’m working, slowly, toward a full-length manuscript. It has taken on many forms; it can’t settle. I’m not going to force it to settle. We’ll see what happens.

Can you name a poet you think should be receiving more attention?

Sanna Wani! She has a chapbook out with Toronto-based Penrose Press this April. I’m unbelievably excited for it. Her work is sunlight on Sunday morning. Reading it is like taking a deep breath.