Each week we will be connecting with our contributors showing where they have been, where they are now, and what’s up for the future.
Name: Cathy Barber
Title of Piece published in Sweet: The Subject
Issue: 8.2
Find her:
Facebook
Cathy has returned to Ohio after spending twenty years in California. She serves on the board of Literary Cleveland and keeps both local and long-distance poetry critique groups. She does not currently have a website.
What are some major accomplishments you have had since your Sweet publication?
I have a chapbook of tiny Abecedarian poems, twenty-six words, in alphabetical order available from Dancing Girl Press in Chicago. It’s titled Aardvarks, Bloodhounds, Catfish, Dingoes. It’s a lovely little book, designed by DGP editor Kristy Bowen. Be aware, though, that hers is a one-woman operation and books can take a long time to arrive, so be patient.
I’ve also had poems published in many journals, including Kestrel, Slant, the Hawaii Review, the Origami Poem Project, and Poetic License’s anthology In Plein Air, poems written at least partially outdoors. My “Three Short Love Poems” was nominated for a Best of the Net award by Atlas and Alice.
Can you tell us about a current/ongoing project that you’re excited about?
I do love form and I have moved on from Abecedarian poems to Golden Shovel poems. This form was invented by Terrance Hayes and there is now an anthology of Golden Shovels based on the poems of Gwendolyn Brooks. I hope to assemble a chapbook of Golden Shovel poems in the first half of the year.
Who is your favorite author?
Oh, that’s impossible! I do love the poetry of the Davids, though; Kirby, Lehman and Trinidad.
What is your favorite poem/essay/book?
It’s hard to beat “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden.
What inspires you to write?
I love the intersection of memory/imagination/form, that push back in each direction that forces you to create something new.
What is your favorite sweet?
It’s a tie–bread pudding and tiramisu.
Lovely! You don’t often see bread pudding these days. This one looks amazing.
Thank you, Cathy, for taking the time to reconnect with us. We look forward to seeing more of your work in the future!
