Lisa Zaran interview

This interview with Lisa Zaran was conducted in May 2008. Lisa Zaran is the author of several poetry collections, including The Blondes Lay Content and The Sometimes Girl.

Lisa Zaran Where were you born and raised?

I was born in Englewood. Los Angeles, California. My mother was a nurse there and my father worked for Mattel Toys. My parents were somewhat nomadic, I always refer to them as "gypsies" because they never could stay in one place at a time. Our family moved over 40 times before I was sixteen years old. At the time, the constant moving and being 'the new kid' was a bit frustrating, but now, as an adult I look back on it as very enriching. I met so many people and learned tolerance and acceptance as the better ideal, versus close-mindedness to others and their lifestyles. Basically, as a young girl, I wore trousers instead of a skirt.

What was it that first got you into writing and when did you start writing?

I penned my first poem at six years old. My mother still retains a copy of it. Its title was "Hallway" and it went on and on about all the things a child of six could accomplish down a hallway. Bright mind, let me tell you. In actuality, I've always felt a pull or a drive toward writing. My father was heavily into any artistic endeavor and he pursued many throughout his life. As a child, during World War 2, he carved his own toys out of tree branches. He made boats and automobiles, whatever fed his imagination at the time. As he matured he painted, sketched in charcoal and wrote. His writing included poetry, essays, fictional pieces as well as non-fiction. He was born in Haugesund, Norway, didn't successfully get his Visa to work in the United States until his late twenties/early thirties. He used to write many papers on the American life which the Oslo newspaper published as often as he wrote them.

Which writers have influenced you the most?

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Bob Dylan, Fernando Pessoa, Robert Musil, Bukowski, Czeslaw Milosz, Rimbaud, Lorca, I could go on with this question forever. I'm very influenced by deep thinkers and with those whose scope with words is both deft and enlightening. I'm moved by tragic stories and by any poem that discloses something within itself.

What kind of things do you write?

Poetry for the most part. Although I have written a few short stories, a handful of essays and conducted interviews with other poets and writers I admire. I'm an avid journal writer and I'm often told I should write a novel. I've started a few but something always guides me back to poetry. Like some unseen hand.

What are you working on now?

Well, I have five books published and so I am always working on my next. I would like to do a themed book or a book length poem. I think that would be a remarkable achievement.

What is your writing day like?

It honestly depends. I don't often wait for the muse, sometimes I force her along. I do most of my writing on the computer, whereas before, maybe as little as two years ago, the bulk of my writing was pen and paper. I had a hard time giving that up. I felt that with a blank page and a pen and perhaps calm surroundings, some floodgate would open. I will still rely on this method of writing when I'm some place where I don't have access to my computer. I enjoy using the computer now.

Especially in those moments where my mind freezes up, I can cruise around and read other people's writing, this is great for reigniting my own imagination and creativity.

What’s the most exciting thing about writing for you?

Knowing when I'm onto something. That instinctual feeling when I know I'm tapped into whatever source it is that will make a particular poem good. It's a sensation I feel within but at the same time it seems to come from without, somewhere else.

What’s the most frustrating thing about writing for you?

When I have a full day with no other obligations but to write and nothing clicks.

What’s the best piece of feedback that you’ve had from your audience?

I receive countless emails/letters from people. One woman said she thought I was one of "the brilliant minds of our generation". That was a pretty big compliment. Also, my first book was used as the focus of a yearlong course in Germany. That was an amazing experience for me.

That a class would use my book as their entire course and spend a year translating it. My poetry has been chosen by over two hundred students throughout the United States ranging in grades sixth through the University level as their assigned poetry projects. It is astounding that so many young people find my work inspiring enough to choose it over all the other poets, living or deceased, to do a project on. Reading their letters and listening to what their thoughts are is probably some of the most critical feedback I've ever received. Students will often see an aspect in one of my poems that I didn't even realize existed.

They've helped expand my own visions on what a poem can do and what a poem can be.

Do you write for a particular audience, or is your first priority to satisfy your own creativity?

This may sound very clichéd, but I write because I have to. I always have. I have a trunk full of poems I've written since my teen years that I have no interest in others seeing. I did it for me I suppose.

Writing is a good coping mechanism. Of course, don't get me wrong, I adore an approving audience. Anybody that goes out and purchases my books because they like them, well, how could I not be pleased as punch about that?

Do you have a homepage? Do you have any short stories or poems published online? (If so, please provide the URLs):

Yes. My official website is at http://www.lisazaran.com. I am also the founder and editor of Contemporary American Voices, a monthly poetry journal. (http://www.contemporaryamericanvoices.com). I have hundreds of poems online, a few urls where recent work can be found are:

-Famous Poets & Poems (http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/lisa_zaran)

-The Showcase at Laura Hird.com (http://www.laurahird.com/showcase/lisazaran.html)

-The Arabesques Review (http://www.arabesquespress.org/journal/lisa_zaran/)

-The Peregrine Muse (http://web.mac.com/joneve/The_Peregrine_Muse/zaran.html)

-Argonauts' Boat (http://users.skynet.be/spier/2008argoboat/2009boatlisa.htm)

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