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: Kathleen McGookey
Title of Piece published in Sweet: I’d Like to Think Someone is Listening
Issue: 7.3
Find her:
Now that my kids are back in school, you can find me in my office at home, looking out on a field where the long grass is slowly turning a silvery-tan color, finally writing a poem.
What are some major accomplishments you have had since your Sweet publication?
I’ve had two books of poems come out: Stay (Press 53, 2015) and Heart in a Jar (White Pine Press, 2017). Another book is forthcoming from Press 53 in 2019, though that book doesn’t have a title yet.
I’ve also had work selected for a couple great anthologies: New Micro: Exceptionally Short Fiction (Norton, 2018), Elemental: A Collection of Michigan Creative Nonfiction (Wayne State, 2018), and Nothing to Declare: A Guide to the Flash Sequence (White Pine Press, 2016).
Can you tell us about a current/ongoing project that you’re excited about?
I am excited to be sitting at my desk again, writing poems.
Who is your favorite author?
It’s terrible to have to pick just one. So I’ll tell you about the books I’ve read lately. I just read George Saunders’ book of essays The Braindead Megaphone and really loved it. I also loved The Bright Hour by Nina Riggs. I am looking forward to reading I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death by Maggie O’Farrell, although I think that book is going to scare me. But if you really want me to answer the question, some of my favorite contemporary prose poets are Nin Andrews and Gary Young.
What is your favorite poem/essay/book?
A poem I return to again and again is “Absence” by Susan Griffin. Also, I loved the book The Museum of Happiness by Jesse Lee Kercheval, although I read it years ago.
What inspires you to write?
Reading poems. After I read a poem, I sometimes want to continue the conversation. So I write.
What is your favorite sweet?
Here is a link to my favorite chocolate cake recipe. It’s a tiny bit different than how I make it, but it’s generally the same thing. It is actually called Dr. Feelgood’s Chocolate Cake.
Thank you, Kathleen, for taking the time to reconnect with us. We look forward to seeing more of your work in the future!
