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Interview conducted by reviewer Ernest Dempsey Thank you Nadia for your time and the wisdom you have shared. "I don't put myself above the reader," says Nadia Brown, author of the recent poetry book UNSCRAMBLED EGGS. Though not a voluminous work, UNSCRAMBLED EGGS is sharply focused and exhibits an inspiring degree of freedom both in form of the verse and the purpose of the work. Nadia Brown kindly took time to share her thoughts about poetry with reference to her book. Q: Nadia, would you please tell us a little about yourself as a poet? Nadia: I have been writing poetry for over six years. My poetry has appeared in numerous magazines, literary journals in print and throughout the web including Poems Niederngasse, Voices Literary Magazine, Lily Literary Review, Awareness Magazine, Wicked Alice, Muses Review, etc. UNSCRAMBLED EGGS is my first full-length collection and was awarded the Poetry Book of Merit Award by the American Authors Association. UNSCRAMBLED EGGS is also nominated for the "Noble" Prize for Literature Award and Allbooks Reviews Editor's Choice Awards for 2007. Poems from Unscrambled Eggs have also been nominated for Muses Prize, (in the Best Poem of Year 2005 category). I'm the founder of Author & Book Promotion (www.freewebs.com/authorpromotion), a site dedicated to helping authors by providing marketing tips, articles and resources on promotion. I'm also currently working on my next collection of poems, not yet titled. Readers can learn more about my work at http://nadiabrown.pbwiki.com Q: What are your inspirations and icons in poetry? Nadia: I admire many authors like Langston Hughes, Emily Dickson, Nikki Giovanni, and Billy Collins. Although I mention those, I also deeply respect many other authors who are not well-known. But I would admit Maya Angelou is the author that greatly inspires me the most. She is my favorite author. Like her, my writings also tend to be meaningful for the most part. But like a lot of authors, anything can inspire me to write. It can be a conversation, a film, a song, life experiences, etc. So many things inspire me to write. Q: What major element binds the poems in UNSCRAMBLED EGGS? Nadia: The central theme is finding one's purpose and living your dreams. There are many books about finding purpose, but none that I can recall was ever written in poetic form, making this book unique in that way. Q: Nearly all your poems leave the reader thinking. Has your motivation been to inspire thought? Nadia: Poems that I enjoy reading the most are the ones that have inspired me in some way or form, so I tend to create what I most enjoy reading. I believe that poetry should entertain as well as inform. And what I attempt to do is write what's in my heart. When you do that, for the most part, I believe readers will relate to whatever you are trying to convey. Q: UNSCRAMBLED EGGS does not appear as an emotionally charged work. Did you invest a great deal of emotional energy in writing these poems? Nadia: With every poem you always invest some time of emotional energy because I always write what moves me at the time--what I'm feeling. At times it can be stronger emotionally than other times. But generally speaking each piece takes on different levels of emotions. Q: Several poems, including "Unscrambled Eggs," "Deprived," "Misguided" and others, convey a discontent over things that are not there but are strongly needed. How did you manage not sounding preachy or petulant? Nadia: When I write, I don't put myself above the reader, and I believe that is why my poems don't come across as preachy. The reader and I are on the same level. Being a writer doesn't mean you don't have faults of your own. It just means you are in a position to share or articulate those weaknesses to a wider audience. Though the overall theme of the book is about one's purpose, it is not a how-to book, but a source with which readers can relate in some form. I don't talk down to readers because I am also talking to myself. Q: "Silent Walk" is one poem that expressly claims the feeling of a woman, or at least a person, for the loneliness and neglected state of another woman. How much is your book the work of a woman? Nadia: Obviously my poems are written from my point of view as a woman. But UNSCRAMBLED EGGS is not meant to be genre specific. The poems are eclectic and diverse in subject matter. It is meant to have a universal appeal. It is a book that I believe people from all walks of life can enjoy. I describe myself as a modern woman with traditional values, and those ideals are expressed in my poems. The poem "Silent Walk" was actually inspired by my twin sister. She had a knack for entering the room without me realizing. But I'm aware that readers will have their own understanding and explanation of each piece as it relates to their own lives. Q: "Before I Knew Better" is the most unique poem in the book by virtue of its structure. How do you see your prose poetry compared to lined verse? Nadia: I am not as conscious of those aspects of writing as much when I constructing a poem. The writing process for me tends to be organic in terms of substance and style. When I was writing the poem, "Before I Knew Better," I didn't know necessarily what particular approach I was taking until after I had written the beginning verse. As a poet, you are not always sure how a poem is going to look and feel until after you've written it. Q: UNSCRAMBLED EGGS is a work of verse without rhyme. Do you write rhyming verse? Nadia: I don't write rhyming verse as much--or really at all. I believe I've only written one poem that rhymes ("Blue Night"). I'm not opposed to doing more though. I would like to show more range as a poetry writer. Hopefully, I can get there. Q: "Like You" and "Ploys of Distraction" reveal a world-weary heart. Do you see UNSCRAMBLED EGGS as an optimistic product? Nadia: It is optimistic in some aspects, but has somber moments as well. As an author, I hope UNSCRAMBLED EGGS will be inspiring to readers on all continents and of all languages. From most of the feedback that I have gotten from this book, I believe that those who have read UNSCRAMBLED EGGS do view it as a hopeful read. Q: In our times, do you feel poetry can greatly influence thinking? Nadia: I do believe poetry can influence thought and such poets like Mattie J. T. Stepanek and Maya Angelou have already proven that. But for me there isn't any particular formula for influencing thinking. I don't subscribe to the notion that impacting people with words is something you can calculate. I just believe that when you are true to yourself, and you write about things that matter to you, then as an author you will have some form of success. That is all you can do. Poetry shouldn't be forced. Poets and writers in general should write what they're passionate about. Once that is done, I believe their writings will resonate. Q: What are your future plans for publishing more poetry? Nadia: I would like to write a collection of poems that reflects light and happiness. It will mostly be comprised of honest, meaningful poems, and will be a much lighter tone than UNSCRAMBLED EGGS. I can't completely describe my next project because I also write from experience, so I must live some of my poems. But that is the direction I'm heading in. I also plan to submit a few individual pieces to literary journals in print and electronic publications for publishing considerations. Armchair Interview says: Thank you Ernest for this interview and sharing it with us. Ernest Dempsey is a research associate, a poet, a freelance writer, a book reviewer, and author of the recent The Biting Age, a book of humor. Ernest is working on his first novel. |
