Hi Ruth, tell us a bit about the inspiration behind the poem 39 Days.
The inspiration behind the poem is actually fairly mundane. I live in Ireland, well known for rain, but last year the weather here outdid even itself. In all it rained for 60 days straight, all through the early part of the summer. Around about day 39 I was talking to some friends who wondered if there was another flood on the way. That afternoon there was a break in the clouds and sunlight fell on the rose garden outside my library. The idea of 39 days of rain played on my mind for some time and eventually grew into this poem.
What's the process you go through when writing a poem? Do you do
drafts, rewrites, if so how many and how long before you think a poem
is ready?
Poems tend to come to me, so rather than sitting down to write one I am struck by a phrase or an image, an idea which percolates for some time (often several days or weeks), before I actually write anything down. I work in detail on stories and novels, taking time with plotting and characterisation, but poems need to take their own time and only come out when the moment is right. That sounds like a typically vague answer, playing on the idea of the mystical poetic muse or something similar, but I don't mean it to do so. More it is a case that poetry, while a craft, cannot be forced. I believe poetry should flow, and it should do so from the very beginning that the germ of an idea occurs. Of course once the poem is down on paper it's fair game and I will pull it apart and put it back together like any editing writer.
Why write poetry? What is it about poetry that appeals to you?
I feel that poetry comes from an outpouring of our deepest emotions and in its most powerful form carries those emotions out into the world. It is a way of dealing with, and explaining those emotions, of helping both poet and reader to deal with them. But I write poetry, mainly, because once a phrase is stuck in my mind in the way a phrase from one of my poems usually is, I need to get it out or let it drive me mad.
Tell us a bit about what's keeping you busy--your latest triumphs and upcoming pubs.
It has been a very good year for me so far. My short story, The Lost Rose(published in Haruah), placed in the top ten of the Preditors and Editors poll for best mainstream short story. Another short story "Carrying Keptara" will appear in the "Ruins Metropolis" anthology which is due out any day now from Hadley Rille Books. I'm very excited about this anthology edited by Eric Reynolds, as it contains some wonderful stories by wonderful writers and its an honour to appear among them. "Elements", a Celtic fantasy based on an imaginary Irish verion of the legends of Merlin and King Arthur, appeared in the Flashing Swords Summer speicial (available from 1st June to 30th of September only). "The Wrecker's Daughter", the story of a selkie's child, will also appear in the Fall 2008 issue of Ocean magazine. But most exciting of all, my novella "The Wolf's Sister: a tale of the Holtlands" is due to be published by Samhian publications in November 2008.
I'm working on my novel "Moy Tura Echoes" and hoping to hear back soon from publishers reading the full manuscript of my novels "To Regain Heaven" and "The Penitent". I've also just begun to plot out the sequel to "The Wolf's Sister", tentatively titled "The Wolf's Mate".
I'm crossing genres these days between Fantasy and Romance, (since I realised that my fantasty usually has a strong romantic element anyway!) and the decision to do so has lead to a great deal of productivity in the last six months. I've also set up a website, http://www.rflong.com which has up to date information on forthcoming publications and work in progress.
Our thanks to Ruth for taking the time to answer these questions. We hope you enjoy reading her poem, 39 Days. Please feel free to leave your comments in our discussion forum.