Kendra Preston Leonard

Oyster River Pages: How has your writing or art changed over time?

Kendra Preston Leonard: In writing lyrics for composers to set to music, I¹ve become more aware of my use of punctuation and references to things that might be obscure or difficult for audiences to catch in a setting where they are hearing my words rather than reading them. For works that I know will be set and sung, my process includes thinking about where singers need to breathe and what words might be difficult to enunciate as I write. My poetry includes a lot of material about the natural world, something I didn¹t initially think I would write much about, but it¹s become a big part of my work both in terms of literal writing and using elements of the natural world as metaphors.

ORP: How does writing or making art change you?

KPL: I learn from it. I learn from the research I do for poems, and the process enables me to make connections I mightn¹t have made otherwise. It's also cathartic and helps me process the world around me, on both large and small scales. I can voice emotions and thoughts that would feel awkward to say as part of an everyday conversation.

ORP: What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

KPL: Writing is work. Treat it as work - work that you enjoy - but work.

ORP: Who do you hope reads your work and why?

KPL: Policy makers, activists, singers, composers, athletes, journalists, photographers, sculptors, teens, seniors, engineers, teachers, the disabled, actors, historians, administrative assistants, needleworkers, critics, linguists, cooks, hikers, editors, cleaners, gardeners, more.

ORP: How does this work connect to your personal experiences/identity?

KPL: “Brumadinho” is part of a set of poems for singer and composer Allyssa Jones called Water Works. She and I wanted to create a set of songs that addressed water as a social justice issue and took on water rights, water management, and the power of water to destroy and build. In addition to topics like Hurricane Katrina and Texas water rights, I wanted to write about non-US-ian events, and the Brumadinho dam disaster - a horrifying event - spoke to me.

Kendra Preston Leonard is a poet and librettist based in Texas. Her work has appeared in vox poetic, lunch, and other venues, and her latest opera libretto, The Harbingers, will be premiered this October in Chicago with music by Rossa Crean. Listen to Kendra read her poetry here.