Meet Karen Rigby - dipity Community Spotlight Q&A Interview no. 12
learn more about poet and author Karen Rigby's work through dipity's global interview monthly spotlight feature
Introduction
Born in the Republic of Panama in 1979, Karen Rigby now lives and writes in Arizona. Her latest poetry book, Fabulosa, is forthcoming from JackLeg Press in 2024. Her debut poetry book, Chinoiserie (Ahsahta Press, 2012), was selected by Paul Hoover for a 2011 Sawtooth Poetry Prize, and described by Booklist as “poignant, powerful, and urgent.”
Karen’s work has been honored by a National Endowment for the Arts literature fellowship, a Vermont Studio Center Fellowship, and an Artist Opportunity Grant from the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council. She is a 2023 recipient of an Artist Opportunity Grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts. Her poetry is published in journals such as The London Magazine, Poetry Northwest, The Oxonian Review, and Australian Book Review.
Bildungsroman
About the statue sculpted in green bronze curbed between wildwood and the civic park downtown each horse hoisted in mid-air, fur giving over to snow, haunches illuminated now by moonlight, just kiting low between the branches: let me write one more elegy about a city I never once forgot, not in grief or panic quickening in the trees, rain strewn across boulevards, tracks under bridges, the river a glittering vein— wherever history marks an X, you and I were never the zeitgeist.
Q: What is the backstory of this poem?
“Bildungsroman” is an exercise in the abecedarian. It’s also a poem that unfolds across one sentence. I wanted to find out what those two limitations would bring about. I’ve also lived in cities at varying times, and am fascinated by their monuments and histories. Then, too, several of my poems might be thought of as love poems. This poem combines all of that.
Q: What was your most recent publication?
Fabulosa, a collection of poems, is out from JackLeg Press in June 2024. It’s available from Bookshop, and includes poems about art, fashion, and more!
Q: Where can others find more of your work?
“Walking Down Millionaire’s Row” in The Oxonian Review
“Watching Morse on Endeavour” in Banshee Press
“Lemons in August” in The London Magazine
Q: What else do you do outside of the writing or poetry community? OR What else are you working on or excited about in the future? Any fun hobbies?
Nearly everything to me is writing, or ancillary to it, or fuel for ideas! A maybe grim hobby: a penchant for watching Nordic Noir and subtitled Danish police procedurals. A milder hobby would be reading about interior design or trying out flavors of herbal teas, like ginger lime rooibos. I also make good chicken soup with ditalini. I’m currently working on the beginning of my next book!
Q: When did you begin writing? OR What or who sparked and inspired your writing journey?
Q: What advice would you give aspiring poets, authors, or fellow writers in the community?
Read outside of your own inclinations, wildly and widely. Also, have a reason for writing that goes beyond ideas of “audience” or “publication,” because you need a larger reason to keep you going across decades, even in silence.
Q: What book(s) would you recommend to others?
I grew up reading Sylvia Cassedy’s Behind the Attic Wall (1985). It’s a poetic novel about an orphan who becomes the guest of unusual, animated beings she discovers in an attic. It’s also about solitude, belonging, growing up, and death. And for the entirely light, H.E. Bates, The Darling Buds of May.
Q: What was the last movie or TV show you watched or recommend others see in the community?
Endeavour (2012-2023) is the prequel to the Inspector Morse (1987-2000) TV series, and is a detective drama that takes place in and around Oxford. Its music, period set design, atmosphere, and references to literature and history are top tier. If you’re a writer, too, it extends across nine seasons, which gives plenty of room to think about character arcs, as well as theme and variation.
Q: Which poets, artists, or writers inspire you?
The light in Bruegel paintings, Diane Seuss’s Four-Legged Girl, poems by Frank X. Gaspar, Alice Fulton, and others all inspire me. Places inspire me, too, including the city of Pittsburgh. I am most inspired by those who seem to give of themselves and their imaginations with generosity.
Q: If you were stuck on the moon with anyone or could pick your space flight partner who would it be ( it could be someone from the past or present time)?
I would choose my children, who have boundless curiosity, humor, and questions. They would make the situation far sillier!
Kalandra - Concrete Landscapes
Q: What's one of your favorite poems in existence?'
“Variation on the Word Sleep” by Margaret Atwood. I love the delicate, simple language that reveals ever-intensifying desire, and Atwood’s masterful line breaks. The poem can be found on Poets.org: https://poets.org/poem/variation-word-sleep.
To Check Out More of Karen Rigby’s Work
Circle back to some of her work mentioned above in this Q&A and check out her website in the future, especially visit the news, and events section:
Website: https://www.karenrigby.com/
Any other thoughts, comments, or shares after reading the interview?
[Interview Processed By VFORROW]
Thank you so much, Karen Rigby, for sharing and submitting to Dipity Lit Mag! ~ Jazz Marie Kaur (Vevna Forrow)
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