Several times a month we connect with our contributors showing where they have been, where they are now, and what’s up for the future.
Name: Diane LeBlanc
Title of Pieces Published in Sweet: “Damage Control”
Issues: 13.3
Find Her:
You can find Diane in Northfield, Minnesota, city of cows, colleges, and contentment. Be sure to read more about her on her website.
What are some major accomplishments you have had since your Sweet publication?
Publication and promotion of a full-length poetry collection, The Feast Delayed (Terrapin Books, 2021)
Can you tell us about a current/ongoing project that you’re excited about?
I’m shaping published and new essays (full-length and microessays) into a collection. Since I’ve written an essay to memorialize each of my dogs that has passed, those essays are the structural columns. I’m excited about imagining possibilities of the narrative of the whole.
Who is your favorite author?
I return to May Swenson for the music, Melissa Kwasny for lyric, Jericho Brown for urgency of the line, Ada Limon for world, and Adrienne Rich for permission. This list goes on, which is why I can’t claim a favorite.
What is your favorite poem/essay/book?
The ones I think about days, months, years after reading them. I have 2 or 3 copies of Adrienne Rich’s books that I dialogue with in different ways. “Diving into the Wreck,” the poem and the book, has been influential.
What inspires you to write?
Reading, observing, being outdoors.
What are you reading right now?
I’m rereading Ross Gay’s The Book of Delights for perspective in the new year.
What is your favorite sweet? We would love for you to share a recipe or link to place that serves it. Pictures are great, too!
My mother’s apple crisp. This recipe is similar to hers.
Reminds us of fall and apple picking with the family.
Thank you, Diane, for taking the time to reconnect with us. We look forward to seeing more of your work in the future!
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