Mary Junge
Oyster River Pages: Why do you write and/or create?
Mary Junge: My habit of writing poetry initially began in early adulthood with “free writing” as a means to better understand myself and the meaning of my life. Writing helped me to slow down, see more clearly, and live more fully in each moment. These early efforts, fueled by eros, naturally led me into the embrace of creativity with its various complex stages. Eventually, writing became habitual. With more awareness, came more creativity. Creativity can be a powerful, and sometimes healing, force, whether or not it results in a product—a poem or a work of art. Writing helped me to rise above the limitations I felt after growing up in the shadow of my sister who suffered from debilitating mental illness. The creative processes that I embraced eventually helped me to make changes in myself and my life, in addition to enabling me to create poems to share with others
ORP: What would you say is your most interesting writing and/or artistic quirk?
MJ: Messiness is a trait of mine, legendary among my family and friends, though I generally try to limit it to my writing and sewing spaces in my home. I’ve learned to honor the physical chaos I create, to a degree. It’s as if a part of me is trying to be impossibly inclusive. I would, for instance, like to read every book and to keep all of the books I love close at hand. Chaos is also the part of me that helps me to make poetic leaps and enables me to step out of my small life to try to imagine the lives of other beings. However, I know all too well that if I allow chaos to take over entirely, I very soon become incapable of writing poems or making quilts. So, chaos must be balanced with self-control. Where to draw the line remains the hovering, unanswerable question.
ORP: What do you think is the best way to improve writing and/or artistic skills?
MJ: While I don’t imagine there is any absolute best way to improve writing, there is no doubt in my mind that avid reading feeds good writing. How could it hurt to see other styles of writing? How could it hurt to hear others’ stories or to learn about other cultures? Aside from travel, I can think of nothing that expands us more than reading widely. It is a good habit to make and a hard habit to break. In addition to reading, I strive to be a lifelong learner in other ways. I take writing classes and I frequent local poetry readings and Zoom readings far away, in addition to attending writing conferences. I limit “workshopping” of my poems to a small group of poets I know and trust. The expanding power of reading reminds me of Emily Dickinson’s poem, “There is No Frigate Like a Book/To take us Lands away/ Nor any Coursers like a Page/ Of prancing Poetry—“
ORP: Who do you consider to be your creative ancestors and contemporaries for your art and/or writing? How does your creative work converse with theirs?
MJ: Emily Dickinson, Meridel Le Sueur, Adrienne Rich, Lucille Clifton, and Jane Hirshfield: Dickinson gave me ideas about writing directly from one’s own life and finding philosophy in daily rituals. Rich taught me bravery and the power of the poetic leap. Le Sueur introduced me to labor rights, feminism and the power of storytelling. Clifton and Hirshfield taught me the power of metaphor and the importance of editing out unnecessary verbiage.
ORP: What books have you read more than once in your life?
MJ: I have read many books twice, but I have read Anne Frank many times, and each time I found it to be as fresh and as new as the first time I read it.
