An interview with Sherry Johnson

Sherry Johnson is the author of two books of poetry, Pale Grace and Hymns to Phenomena. Her poems have appeared in many journals, magazines and anthologies, most recently in The Malahat Review and forthcoming in CV2 and The Iowa Review. Also a film critic, her articles have appeared in Senses of Cinema, MUBI Notebook, the Swedish academic journal Film International and others.

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

I was an avid reader from an early age and began writing poetry in my early teens. At the age of about 12 I first encountered Emily Dickinson (There is a certain slant of light) and Alfred Lord Tennyson (Break, break, break,\On thy cold gray stones, O Sea!\And I would that my tongue could utter\The thoughts that arise in me.) Their language recurred in my mind, and the feeling their poetry initially gave me was like that of shock combined with extreme joy. I began to suspect that I was a poet like them, and wrote a lot of bad poetry as any beginner does. I write poetry I suppose in order to recapture that initial feeling of discovering language for the sake of language. What fuels my language is often the language of other poets, the favorites I keep returning to, and there are always new discoveries. I am currently completing a manuscript of all ekphrasis. So aside from influences of language, I am also influenced by the visual language of whatever subject I choose to focus on. What has surprised me about ekphrasis is just how varied my response has been to the many visual works I have chosen. I never know what will unfold when I sit down to write a new poem. And what is most unexpected is what makes it all gratifying in the end.

What poets have influenced the ways in which you write?

There are too many to list here of course and as I noted, my poetry is influenced by factors other than poetry. In Canada, I especially admire Anne Carson, Anne Szumigalski, Margaret Atwood, Margaret Avison, Christopher Dewdney and Sharon Thesen is a poet I have been wanting to return to. I read a couple of poems which took my breath away online and I'm wondering why her work is not everywhere. I'm going to order her book The Receiver sometime soon. For American poets I especially love C. D. Wright, Mary Jo Bang, John Yau and Charles Wright. Celan in German and Rimbaud in French. In Italian, I love Eugenio Montale, although I don't really read Italian. I just read Montale.

Have you noticed a difference in the ways in which you approach the individual poem after you began publishing full-length collections?

The more I write I think the more I seek perfection and work harder at the craft aspect of writing, maybe too much sometimes. Writing is certainly more than inspiration. At the same time though I've become more open about the direction a poem will take. I realize that the possibilities of poetry are almost endless.

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

Many people assisted me as a young writer. In hindsight, I feel I learned the most from Anne Szumigalski, as an example of a woman who labored and labored against the odds. She was a truly amazing woman. I attended a writing group in her house in the late 90s where she awed us with her erudition, linguistic attainments (I believe that by the time of her death she had studied over 20 languages) and her fantastic scones and homemade jams.

You’ve published poetry as well as film criticism. What is the difference between working on poems to working critical prose? Do the two sides of your writing interact at all?

There is some confluence in mood\subject\approach between poem and essay to be sure. Of course I don't wish to be too clinical in a poem or too flighty in an article. I only write criticism about films I find to be truly inspiring, so I do try to temper myself. And I do long to say something in a poem, even if I know it isn't necessary.

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

Are people familiar with John Yau's poetry in Canada?!! It is something I have only discovered in the past couple of years. I encountered Yau through an article he had written on Cy Twombly. I love Twombly's paintings and Yau managed to express so much I couldn't have elucidated myself regarding his work. From there, I read his poetry and a really awesome anthology he put together of poets writing on the painter Neo Rauch. Also, I was truly impressed with a poem on the train site recently by David Martin. I don't know if I've ever read his poetry anywhere else, but I know I'd like to read more.