TERESE MASON PIERRE, AUTHOR OF MANIFEST
The Light Bulb is an interview series by The Lumiere Review. We’ve interviewed several authors of chapbooks to shed some light on the process of finding inspiration, drafting, revising, and publishing a chapbook. We believe in amplifying a diverse range of writers in the ever-expanding literary scene through this series. For writers who have their eyes set on publishing a chapbook, we hope that these conversations can bring you one step closer to a completed manuscript or a home with a press.
This time round, we have Terese Mason Pierre, author of Manifest (Gap Riot Press, 2020). Support Terese and her work by ordering a copy here.
I. MOTIVATION
First thing’s first, what got you motivated to write your most recent chapbook, Manifest?
Manifest is my first chapbook of speculative poetry, even though it’s my second chapbook. I had only started writing that kind of poetry in 2019 and I wasn’t sure how it would be received. I don’t write with the idea of collecting poems into a chapbook, so there was no targeted, specific motivation on that end. I collected the poems into a chapbook when I saw that the poems discussed similar themes.
Could you elaborate on the themes, arcs, and/or journeys that define Manifest?
Manifest is speculative and dreamy in nature. Many of the poems contain elements of fantasy, folklore, science fiction, and otherworldly elements. I write about mermaids, aliens, apocalyptic futures, body-switching, and more. But I believe it also interrogates the ways in which humanity can love, change and hope.
What keeps you going when you lose the willpower to continue writing and drafting?
If I’m not feeling in the mood to write, I don’t write. I don’t think I produce my best work that way. If I’m in the mood to write, but not a particular project, then I write something else. I engage in a lot of other media, like TV and movies, when I’m feeling down, or like I can’t produce anything I like.
II. EXECUTION
Tell us about the way you sequenced the poems in your chapbook. What are some tips on finding a satisfactory order?
My poems are ordered quite strangely—if I were to pick a through line, I’d say it starts more apocalyptic, then goes to fantasy, then to science fiction, then back to fantasy, but the fantastical language increases as the reader moves through the chapbook, as I wanted to ease a literary audience into that genre. As for tips on ordering your poem, creating a narrative or a through line might be helpful. Ask yourself: What are the messages of these poems? Is there a story or a narrative here in these messages? Alternatively, you don’t have to order your poems at all. You can do whatever you wish.
What’s your writing process like?
My poetry-writing process starts with a line, or a topic/theme. I carry a notebook with me, or my phone, to write down lines or phrases that catch my interest. Then I start building either a story/narrative from the single line, or a world/web around the line. When the poem feels finished, I stop—I try to write the whole poem in one sitting
Do different poems play separate roles in your chapbook? Do they drive the storyline, serve as transitions, or converse directly with the audience?
My chapbook doesn’t have a storyline per se (so there are no poems that drive a storyline), and not all chapbooks need one. I didn’t collect this chapbook with the intention of creating a story. The poems, “The Study of the Imaginary,” and, “En Masse,” do, however, serve as transitions between the more identifiably speculative poems. I don’t think any poem plays a particular role, except perhaps to be a color in a larger mosaic.
III. REVISION
Writing’s one thing, but editing is a whole other domain. Once the first draft is complete, what are some suggestions on transitioning into revision?
When I finish a first draft, I leave it alone for some time (how long I leave it alone for depends on the length of the piece) before going back to it. In the meantime, I work on something else. What might also help is generating a list of questions you wan to ask of yourself/the work when you eventually go back to revision, so you know what to focus on.
Could you share what your revision routine/process is like?
When I go back to revise a piece, I try to think about what mood/state I was in when I first wrote it, but I don’t hold that as closely as I had before. I do think about how to make my language clearer, how to incorporate more themes, or disrupt the themes I have already built in. Reading other poetry helps a lot with my editing.
How do you know when you’re ready to move on from editing to publishing?
If publishing is something that you want to do (some people might not want to publish), then I would send the work out when you feel most proud of it, and feel that sharing your work is something that would make you happy. Also important is to find a way to separate your work from your worth as early as possible. Rejections are very normal, and you can’t always afford to be devastated every single time you get a rejection.
IV. PUBLICATION
Where can we start when looking for chapbook presses?
Twitter is a great resource for finding chapbook presses and journals. Many chapbook presses have Twitter (and other social media) accounts that you can follow for information on submissions, promotions or other events.
Do you have any words of advice on submitting manuscripts to these presses?
I would say to look at different aspects of the press. Who runs the press? What have they published in the past? Do you like their authors? Do you like their cover designs? What are the payments like? It’s holistic, and you should always ask questions if you’re not sure, if not to the press itself, then to other writers in the community. You can also approach the press’s writers and ask what their experiences were like.
Following an acceptance from a press, what are the next steps?
Following an acceptance, the press should send you a contract with information about payments, rights and reprints, author copies and so on. The press might also want to edit the chapbook, which might take a few months. They will also discuss cover design, and should have some sort of marketing and publicity infrastructure. You might be asked to read at the launch, and you might launch with more than one author. You should always ask questions if you’re not sure.
Terese Mason Pierre is a writer and editor whose work has appeared in Hobart, The Puritan, Quill and Quire, and Strange Horizons, among others. Her work has been nominated for the Rhysling Award and Best of the Net. She is the co-Editor-in-Chief of Augur Magazine, a Canadian speculative literature journal. Terese has also previously volunteered with Shab-e She’r poetry reading series, and facilitated creative writing workshops. She is the author of chapbooks, Surface Area (Anstruther Press, 2019) and Manifest (Gap Riot Press, 2020). Terese lives and works in Toronto, Canada. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter.
Interviewed by Jessica Kim.