Dunes Review Interview Series: Volume 21.2

 

For more than 20 years, Dunes Review has showcased the best poetry, fiction & essays from writers here in Northern Michigan and across the country.  The latest edition arrives on October 21st, and we'll celebrate with a launch party and reading here at Brilliant Books.  Of course, there's a lot more to a journal than simply what appears on the page.  We went behind the scenes to meet some of the contributors and editors of the journal, both in its latest edition, and throughout its history.  Check out their stories below!


 

 

Karen Paul Holmes, Contributor

"When an idea or line hits me, I jot it down or record it on my phone and hope that when I have time to sit and write, I'll still be inspired by it. I have lots of tidbits on my phone that I have yet to turn into poems or parts of poems. I find I write in spurts. I have a cabin in the mountains, and when I get there, I automatically feel like poetry..."  Read More

 

 

 

Michael Mark, Contributor

"I want people to get something, be touched by my poems.  I don't know more than that. I've been told 'I understand my parents or a sibling better' by readers - that's the best.  I’ve gotten all sorts of reactions including getting work back in ashes..."  Read More

 

 

 

Caitlin Johnson, Contributor

"I am perhaps mildly infamous among former supervisors and coworkers for whipping out my phone, digging in my bag for a notebook, or appropriating small pieces of receipt paper so I can capture whatever stanza or snippet has just hit me. In one case, I utilized the inside flap of a box of gum because nothing else was available to me..."  Read More

 

 

  

Jan Shoemaker, Contributor

"Lots of writers talk about the importance of writing every day, but that's not a luxury I can afford during the school year when I'm teaching full-time. I do love rising an hour or two before dawn on winter weekends and taking my tea-tray into the study to brood and write at my desk..."  Read More

 

 

 

Ace Boggess, Contributor

"I just look for a way in, an idea, a theme. Once I have that, I write. I use questions as titles for many poems and keep a list. If I don't have an idea floating around in my head, I'll find an interesting question and respond to it...Read More

 

 

 

William Cordeiro, Contributor

"I write notes longhand, whether gathering facts from research and experience or just jotting down stray lines, words, or ideas. With some longer pieces, I work out the plot, structure, and characters beforehand, too. I stitch these elements together ..." Read More

 

 

Christos Kalli, Contributor

"I started writing poetry in the army, when I was 18. There wasn’t anything particularly inspiring in the army, and, in fact, the majority of the time we were doing absolutely nothing. And for me, for that reason, poetry has this amazing generative and regenerative power ..." Read More

 

 

 

Kathleen Balma, Contributor

"I've lived for books for as long as I can remember, so writing seemed like the ultimate pursuit to me, always. I also had more than a few good teachers who nurtured this dream of being a writer, including one or two who ..."  Read More

 

 

Jonathan Donabo, Contributor

"I love feedback.  I think it is very important to share your writing. Especially when it’s in progress. Having a different perspective while writing can open up new pathways for the poem and make it something that you would have never expected it to be..."  Read More

 

 

 

Keith Taylor, Contributor

"My family had recently moved to the United States. We’d come from a small town in the rural West of Canada, to a battered Midwestern city. I did not feel as if I belonged. I started putting words on paper..."  
Read More