An interview with Rose Maloukis

Rose Maloukis is a poet and visual artist, with a BFA from Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan. She was born and grew up in the United States but has dual citizenship and resides in Montreal.  Her poetry was short-listed for the 2015 Montreal International Poetry Prize and two poems were published in Matrix Magazine, Issue #105. A winning Second Place erasure poem has been published in Geist’s 2018 Spring Issue #108.  Her chapbook, Cloud Game with Plums is forthcoming from above/ground press.

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

I’d been thinking about taking a writing course for some time and an ad popped up on my computer screen for a poetry course at McGill called “The Green Freedom of a Cockatoo.”  I’d always loved poetry but hadn’t thought about it in terms of writing.  Wasn’t I lucky, the teacher was Sue Sinclair!!

The class finished in late November, and the following January, that was 2015, four of us formed a group to continue workshopping our poems.   I’d written the odd poem here and there, but after Sue’s class is when I started writing seriously.

What keeps me going is the learning, and the variety, the variety of forms and styles!  There’s always something to ‘try out,’ see if I can do it, or if I like it.  You know, if it feels right for me and holds my interest.   I like adding to my tool kit.

Have you noticed a difference in the ways in which you approach the individual poem since you published your first chapbook?

Yes, in that I’m attempting to write longer poems.  It seems that though my focus has shifted, the short poem still insists.  I equate it with a painting question.  How do you know when it’s done?  For me it’s when you add something and have to scrape it off.  Repeatedly.  Sometimes it feels like the painting/poem itself knows when it’s finished.  That said, I’ll keep at it.

What poets have influenced the ways in which you write?

The ways in which I write and the ways in which I would like to write—probably the first was Appolinaire, I loved his Calligrammes, still do.  After that, Theodore Roethke. More in the present – Angela Rawlings, Michael Dickman, and Alice Oswald.

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

I’ve not really had a mentor per se but Sue Sinclair was/is an extraordinary teacher.  She knew just how deep to go in her critiques so as to encourage me to keep trying to move from mere verse to writing something approaching poetry.

Sarah Burgoyne is another poet whose approach to critique has been invaluable to me.  Her emphasis was/is on what’s working in the poem, moving away from personal likes and dislikes.  To me that’s a great way to foster creativity. And,  Sarah made me believe I could trust my writing.

What are you currently working on?

I’m really just writing and seeing what stacks up.  Eventually, I hope to have enough poems that satisfy me to put together a manuscript.  Right now, things are pretty scattered.

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

I am following Jake Byrne’s poetry.  It has an element of ease to it and is, at the same time, exciting.  I’d like to see a full collection from Deanna Radford.  And I wonder when there will be new work from Eva H.D.   There’s a brand-new poet, Matt Carland, who mixes science and emotion so brilliantly.  Vallum picked up a poem of his recently and I hope he’s encouraged and will keep writing.