Native people , MMIW ( Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women ), etc . And the terseness of poetry probably helps me craft clearer scholarly sentences and in general produce more interesting or readable research . For the most part though , it feels quite difficult to balance and advance both my creative endeavors and work related to my day job .”
Place is an important touchstone for Cahoon ’ s writing . She said , “ Some of my other interests include spending time outdoors in the woods and being with my family . These hugely inform my writing as evidenced by the fact that the natural world is a major focus in almost every one of my poems and several of my family members appear in my work as well . I also have interests that don ’ t inform my writing , at least as far as I can tell . For example , I ’ ve very interested in governance , governing structures , and the mechanisms different societies create for self-regulation . I am especially interested in this as it relates to post-colonial nation states or places where colonial governments have dismantled or destroyed the internal mechanisms of self-governance that previously served the local people and how these communities are going about the task of ( re ) structuring these systems .”
Writers are often inspired by other writers . I asked Cahoon who has inspired her and her work . “ I tend to be drawn to work by Native writers and especially Native women poets . As for writers who ’ ve inspired me , I was recently asked this in another interview and named an array of contemporary poets including dg nanouk okpik , Sherwin Bitsui , Layli Long Soldier , Joy Harjo , as well as some early writing teachers , but I ’ ve since realized that I had overlooked one of my first major inspirations — Richard Hugo . When I was 16 or 17 , I came across “ Making Certain It Goes On ” in my high school library and loved it . I read and reread all of his Montana poems , especially the ones about my reservation , and I ’ m certain that this influenced my early writing … COVID has definitely affected my work , primarily by shifting everything to online . Although nothing compares to a live reading , one of the benefits of going online is that people from well beyond a particular geographic location can tune in . It ’ s also given me the opportunity to read with some of the more well-established writers whose work I admire , like Jennifer Foerster and Mandy Smoker Broaddus , who I read with as part of the Lewis and Clark Library ’ s National Endowment for the Arts Big Read grant .”
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