Are there any artists (poets, musicians, painters, etc.) that you’re loving at the moment? Any person whose work is speaking to you? Share and explain.
(Optional): Provide links to your website, social media, or other places where readers can connect with you. (3 links max)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amy.huffman.5
Twitter: @Poetess222
Interview
with A.J. Huffman
GS&NS: Hi, A.J.! Please introduce yourself to our readers.
A.J.: Originally from eastern Pennsylvania, I now consider myself a native Floridian, happily residing just outside of Daytona Beach, FL. I am primarily a poet, but have also written and published sci-fi and horror short fiction. I am currently working on my first novel. I also enjoy nature and portraiture photography.
GS&NS: I loved your poem, “Roots”, and its commentary on those dreaded gray hairs, but I also think it says something else about the process of a woman aging. Will you speak about that and the general inspiration for the poem?
A.J.: As a woman who refuses to accept the aging process gracefully -- I truly believe you are only as old as you feel, and that, in my opinion, has nothing to do with the date on your birth certificate -- I find inspiration for pieces like “Roots” simply by looking in the mirror. I simply will not allow myself to be defined by a few, or even more than a few, little gray hairs that insist upon blooming atop my head every month. And if writing about that, inspires and empowers other women to feel the same way, that’s even better.
GS&NS: I noticed in several of your pieces that your lines come in quick bursts and are subjected to harsh breaks. What does that style choice achieve in a poem like “Roots”?
A.J.: I am not going to lie, line breaks have always plagued me. When I was a younger writer, I used to stress over them for days, weeks even. Constantly worrying about the choices I’ve made, if they were damaging or helping the poem. When I was in college I attended a poetry reading by Li Young Lee, and I remember him saying that if you turned a poem on its side, the line breaks became a printout of the poem's heartbeat. I loved that idea, still do. But it caused me inordinately large amounts of stress for a very long time. As I get older, I am finding I now subscribe more to the Kerouac school of thinking in that I allow the words to just come organically, and now believe that editing and re-editing can actually kill that heartbeat Lee was describing. So, for me, the breaks come where they do. I don’t overthink it anymore.
GirlSense and NonSense