Susan Alkaitis
ORP: What inspired you to begin writing or creating? Has that source of inspiration changed throughout your life?
Susan Alkaitis: In my twenties, I was a professional dancer and choreographer who supplemented my terrifying income with freelance writing. When I stopped dancing, I furiously and immediately started writing poetry. Looking back, I must have been some sort of transference, but I liked that I could write a poem alone, without organizing people, schedules and rehearsal space. I could finish a draft in a day, sometimes. What I have discovered in the years since, is the endlessness of the study of poetry. I find that element very exciting. I will die without being a master of any form.
ORP: Do you write or create with an audience in mind? If so, how do you consider the relationship between that audience and your work throughout your creative process?
SA: Recently, I have been writing about adolescence set in my small Ohio town. The poems are all over the map—some are composites, others autobiographical or even small fictions. One of my sisters is very present in the work. While she is not necessarily my audience, she is a reader I care about greatly. The other day, I slipped a poem about her into her birthday card so I could help explain, answer questions or gauge her reaction. I was a bit nervous but like always, she was unbelievably generous and has consistently had a phenomenal sense of humor about the poems.
ORP: Does writing or creating energize or exhaust you? What aspects of your artistic process would you consider the most challenging or rewarding?
SA: Writing is thrilling. Not writing is the exhausting part—the obsessing about finding the time to write, worrying that you are not disciplined enough, losing the idea that you were sure you would remember and write down…Seth Tucker, a poet and professor I’ve worked with through Colorado's Lighthouse Writers Workshop said a couple of years ago, “If you’re going to write, then write.” That “shut up and write” approach helped frame my thinking about maintaining the life of a writer while holding a demanding job unrelated to poetry.
ORP: What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing or creating? What advice would you give to another writer or artist?
SA: I try to ask any poet who will answer about their practices and habits. I’ve heard everything from ensuring you have a dedicated writing space to writing and reading daily. While it took years, I have an extraordinary writers’ group who are all excellent, responsible readers. We meet once a month, and everyone shows up impeccably prepared and excuse-free. We not only workshop our poems, but we also read new and emerging books of poetry together. It’s some work, and I know how lucky I am, but finding a community of writers has been tremendously helpful.
