LIFE OF A POET - PAULA WANKEN

This week, my friends, we are traveling to the great open spaces of Texas: big sky, big hearts, cattle country....and the home of poet, Paula Wanken, who writes so beautifully at Echoes From the Silence. I promise you some spectacular scenery, some adorable critters, and an interesting conversation,  so do hop in my little blue beater for a road trip south, to Big Sky Country!

Sherry: Paula, set the scene for us: what part of the country do you live in, do you live an urban or rural existence? Do you have any critters?  What does the life of this poet look like on any given day?

Paula: I am an Iowa farm girl who came to live in San Antonio by way of 14 years in the Chicago area.  My hometown had a population of about 500 people, and of course Chicago is a large metropolis. I’ve found that San Antonio has been a good blend of country and city. 

Texas Longhorns, taken during the Western Heritage Parade

I’ve lived here since July 2003, and while it has taken a while to acclimate to the long summers, it has begun to feel like home. It helps that I moved here to live closer to my only sister and my three beautiful nieces.  

My nieces

I share an apartment with two rescued kitties (Tigger and Lucy, brother and sister, born 8 years ago in a wood pile next to my sister’s house), who compete for space on my lap when my laptop isn’t perched there. (Sometimes Lucy tries to finagle her way onto my lap anyway!)

Lucy on my lap

Sherry: Your nieces are beautiful, and bless you for rescuing the beautiful kitties. What is your field of employment?

Paula: My field of study was Business Education. While I never ended up in the classroom, I have put my business skills to use in an office—mostly as an administrative assistant. I love being “the right hand” to my boss. I’ve always believed my greatest successes are the successes of those I serve.

To keep my toes in the education world, however, I’ve worked off and on for the past 14 years in a tutoring center…both as a tutor as well as providing administrative and diagnostic support. Seeing the successes of our students is also very rewarding.

Tigger - helping with the laundry

Sherry: It must be very rewarding work. Is there anything in your childhood that you can see now, looking back, may have predicted your becoming a writer?  Were you a little girl who loved reading books?

Paula: Having grown up on a farm, playdates with friends were not as easy as walking down the street and knocking on a door. The nearest neighbors were a mile away—and they didn’t have any kids my age. My sister, who is four years older, was always “on to the next thing” in her interests. So I turned to books to keep me company. I loved the Laura Ingalls books—I remember reading the whole set more than once! One of my favorite memories was taking my book out to the pasture, calling for Dotty (a spotted pig) who would trot over and plop herself along the fence line, becoming my back rest. I would be lost “on the prairie” until I was called in for supper.

My love of reading also led to being a prolific story writer and illustrator at that young age. I sure wish I had kept some of those stories…because, unfortunately, “life happened” and my move from the farm just before my teen years shifted my focus away from any form of creative writing for many years (decades, in fact).

Sherry: I love that mental snapshot of you leaning against Dotty, reading Laura Ingalls! Happiness! Tell us about when and how you came to the writing of poetry, and what that journey has meant to you.

Paula: Writing for school and work was never in short demand. And while I was encouraged by teachers and colleagues that I was good and should “write more”, I never felt like I had anything to say beyond the assignments given.

It wasn’t until the advent of blogging that I realized the possibilities were endless. I decided after reading a friend’s blog (that had a random mix of thoughts, stories and poetry), that I could do that—I could be random (even without the poetry). What surprised me was that one of the first entries I wrote was a poem. Other than for a few assignments in school, I had never written poetry. I had little exposure to poetry  – and when I did attempt to understand it, I was always being told by the teacher that I was wrong, so I had given up.

Cornfield back home in Iowa

photo credit Lisa Rasmussen

Sherry: Yay for blogging! How has it impacted your writing journey?

Paula: Blogging offered me a platform to write in a way that I never had before. The connectivity through the poetry blogging sphere has been an incredible encouragement to me. I was new to writing (“for myself”). I was new to poetry. And I was new to blogging (writing what might eventually be read by others!) In the beginning, while sometimes overwhelmed by what felt like “drinking from the fire hose” from the newness of it all, I forged some very lasting relationships…with mentors/teachers…who have become my friends. And blogging has become a regular part of my life.

Sherry: I love your poem about writing (that begins “for years thoughts have gone unspoken” and ends with "they are found in echoes from the silence.") Did the last line of that poem give you the name of your blog? Was it one of your early poems?

Paula: That poem was definitely one of my first, written only about a month into my blogging journey. I had actually started on another platform, which I decided to scrap when I found a more user-friendly “home” at WordPress. When making the switch, and contemplating my new blog name, I wrote this poem which became the theme of blog, and I posted it as my “about me” page.

Sherry: What do you love about poetry? What does it do for you that prose doesn’t do?

Paula: In writing for my blog, I found that I especially enjoy the “poetic license” I can take in writing poetry. You can find pieces of me in all my poems, but not all poems are 100% “me”. They’re my words, for sure, but having room to bend the truth to fit the poem is very freeing. Writing poetry is definitely cathartic—but not having to stick to truth is priceless.

I have a short attention span, and haven’t strengthened my brain muscles to carry a thought longer than some attempts at flash fiction.

Sherry: Is there a style of poetry you prefer, or do you attempt to write in many forms? Which comes most easily to you?

Paula: As a reminder, I’ve only been exploring poetry for the past three and a half years. While I have written many poems in this short time, I still have much to learn about style and form.

Because I didn’t know any better, I started out mostly writing free verse…and making up my own forms. As time has passed, I seem to have gravitated to shorter forms (remember—short attention span? J). One form in particular that I’ve latched onto is the shadorma. As for style, I wouldn’t describe my writing as particularly flowery or full of metaphors – I tend toward word play. But “simple” says it best.

Rural Iowa road 

photo credit Lisa Rasmussen

Sherry: I am so enjoying the color in those Iowa skies! Do you have a poem of yours you are especially pleased with, or that you feel expresses who you are, that you would like to include here?

Paula: This is another of my early poems. It’s not the style of writing I choose most often, and it is way longer than the many (many!) shadormas I’ve written, but it’s definitely a picture of my journey.

A LOSS OF KNOWING

she rides
with cards in the spokes
and colorful strips of plastic fluttering from the handlebars
tangles of long, brown hair flying freely and wildly behind her
for the moment
all is right with the world

she reads
sitting carefree in the pasture
resting comfortably against Dotty, the spotted pig
lost in a world of Ma & Pa on the prairie
for the moment
all is right with the world

she writes
in the corner of the classroom
using her best handwriting to tell the story
even drawing pictures to match
for the moment
all is right with the world

she hides
in silence she protects herself from being known
feelings are pushed aside
passions have died
for too long
all is not right with the world

when did it occur?
this loss of play
this loss of passion
this loss of knowing
when did she forget who God made her to be?

she writes
in the quiet apartment
her cats curled up, sleeping soundly next to her
she listens to the heart of God
while tapping out her words on her computer she remembers
and once again, for the moment,
all is right with the world

Riverwalk, San Antonio

photo credit: Linda Hofke

Sherry: Such a poignant poem. Are you happy with how your poetry, and your blog, have developed? What is your hope for your blog and your writing? 

Paula: Little did I know, when I started blogging in December 2010, that I would still be at it 3+ years later! I have written “ponderings”, poetry, and prose…and in the process have gained insights into myself, developed my love of words, and made lifelong friends (most of whom I’ve not yet met in person).  In the process, my hope is that readers might find something that echoes a bit in their own lives, resonating with them in a way that encourages them. We’re all in this world together. No one is truly alone. That people follow me still blows me away! J

Riverwalk, San Antonio

photo credit: Linda Hofke

Sherry: Me, too, Paula! In Poetic Blooming’s interview of you in 2011, the interviewer noted that a strain of melancholy often runs through your work, and you replied then that your writing reflected what was going on in your life at the time, and that you hoped one day to discover whether you could write from a similar depth of Joy.  Has that happened in the years since then? 

Paula: Because writing is cathartic for me, it is during the rough patches when my words flow more freely, which results in pieces that tend toward the melancholy.  Joy does find me from time to time— I should be better about letting her having a say, too!

CATHARSIS
(a shadorma)


Her words flow,
like tears down her cheeks,
spilling on
-to the page.
Poems, the silent echoes
of her poet’s heart.

SOUL’S SOLSTICE
(a shadorma)


Longest night
of the year has come.
Evening star
reminds me
that I am never alone.
You’re my guiding light.

Sherry: SO beautiful! And comforting: "You're my guiding light." Which leads me to my next question: what fact about you is central to your being? 

photo credit Lisa Rasmussen

Paula: If you’ve read enough of my work or wandered through some of the non-poetry postings on my blog, it should be no surprise that my faith plays an important part in the foundation of who I am. Faith is a very personal thing, so it is a different experience for each person.  However, there are enough commonalities that I enjoy being able to incorporate parts of that life into my writing from time to time, and connecting with my readers on that level, and enjoying the conversations that stem from those pieces.

MY SAVIOR
(a shadorma)


Like a child
at the beach, I have
rules to keep;
yet: free will.
My Lifeguard watches, having
already saved me.

TRUE BLUE
(a shadorma)


If the eyes
are windows to souls,
gaze deeply
into mine
to see where hope finds me and
love never ceases.

Sherry: Your shadormas are incredibly  beautiful. And they say so much in those few lines. I can see why you like the form. Also, Iowa seems to get some incredibly beautiful sunsets!

What other interests do you pursue?

Arneson River Theater

photo credit: Linda Hofke

Paula: Good question – there’s a major difference between “things that interest me” and  “interests that I pursue.” If I had more time and resources on my hands, I would pursue travel. While there are many sights I would like to see, there are a lot of people I would like to see/meet that I have met only in cyberspace. I have had the great fortune of meeting seven such people already, and would like to add to that list!

Until time and money are equally available, I have begun to feel the aches and pains of midlife…and have resigned myself to the fact that I must make time for the gym. It hasn’t been horrible, but it’s not my favorite thing to do. One positive aspect of the alone time there—time to think. I just need something to capture my flashes of brilliance…because, after all, my memory isn’t what it used to be either!

Sherry: It gets worse, trust me, I know these things! Paula, is there anything you would like to say to Poets United?

Paula: Poets United was among the first sites where I connected to other poets. The poetic community has been an incredible encouragement to me! And, while I started off with a bang and was spending all my free time writing, reading and commenting on poems, I’ve allowed the pendulum to swing a little too far the other direction and haven’t been making the rounds as much as I’d like. I’m seeking to find the balance in that. Thank you for the opportunity to “re-enter” here through this interview, Sherry. I was really quite honored at your invitation.

Sherry: It is my pleasure, Paula. I have so enjoyed our visit. And we are looking forward to reading many more of your wonderful poems about life, and joy, and faith.

Sigh. Beautiful country, beautiful poetry and a heartwarming, inspiring faith. Wasn't this a lovely visit, kids? Do come back and see who we talk to next. Who knows? It might be you!