Wordsmith Interview – Eugenie Juliet Theall

Eugenie Juliet Theall
Age 42
New York
My fourth degree was an MFA in Poetry from Sarah Lawrence College.
The Writer
What is your ultimate goal as a writer?
The Nobel Prize in Literature, of course, but the Pulitzer will do.  Hey, a girl can dream!
What is your greatest challenge as a writer?
Do you know how some people suffer from writer’s block?  I’ve never put that pressure on myself because I’ve always looked at the process as a triangle where the three points are reading, writing, and editing.  If I’m not generating new work, then I’m reading a new collection or rooting through archived poems to pull one out that I’m “no longer married to” for a radical revision.
The Work


“A Woman’s Journey” is a past, present, future self-reflection.
Anything else you’d like to share about your work in Crack the Spine?
For some reason, this poem has struck a chord with people.  It isn’t my longest poem or most complex, not even the sexiest.  Yet the positive feedback I’ve received has praised its tight economy and rich imagery. A colleague shared this poem with a former teacher-friend, who asked permission to use it with her middle school classes as part of her poetry unit!  Another person connected to the last stanza, that the silver hair in a brush reminded him of how months after his mother had passed away, he found her hair in the hinge of her reading glasses.
Tell us about another project you have published or are currently working on.
Licking River Review will be publishing “Ramon,” a poem dedicated to my best friend’s cousin who died in El Salvador during the civil war.  There was a time I thought I shouldn’t dare write about El Salvador, that Carolyn Forche had “cornered that market” so to speak, but poet and memoirist, Terese Svoboda, whose workshop I attended in St. Petersburg, Russia, and later met again at the Hassayampa Writers Institute in Prescott, AZ, strongly encouraged me otherwise.
The Methods
How many drafts do you generally go through before you consider a piece to be complete?
It’s not about how many drafts – it’s this feeling of certainty I get when I know a poem is done, that it’s baked, and when I read it, I feel full.  Satiated.
What are your thoughts on writing at a computer vs. writing longhand? 
There’s something beautiful that happens when ideas flow from your brain down your arm to your hand onto paper, the sound of a pencil scratching paper, even chewing the pen cap as you mull over an idea.  It’s organic.  However, when I edit a poem, I always spell check, rearrange lines, enhance verbs, and delete lackluster images using a computer.


How do you react when one of your submissions is accepted for publication?

I’m usually euphoric for the next two days!  I’ve never been partial to alcohol, but after the first drink do you know that warmth that starts in your belly and then covers every inch of you like a faux fur blanket or soft flannel, when you smile at everything?
The Madness
What is your favorite book?
I first began reading “The Girl Who Owned a City” by O.T. Nelson in middle school.  I wish I had written it and am still waiting for the sequel!  A copy goes in the coffin with me.
Who is your favorite author?
I can’t answer this.  It’s one of the questions asked to get into many of my accounts!  Identity theft is no laughing matter…
What is the greatest occupational hazard for a writer?
Having children.
What is your favorite word? 
Genre – the French make everything sound sexy!
What’s in that cup on your desk?
Peacock feathers.


Additional Reading on Eugenie