Jennifer Kronovet : coda

Why is poetry important? 

I’m not sure it is. But it can be beautiful, and what’s the point of everything important without depth and beauty and understanding and new ways to talk and think?

Jennifer Kronovet : part five

When you require renewal, is there a particular poem or book that you return to? A particular author?

When I require renewal, I (re)watch a tv show or movie with a badass female lead who kicks butt or read a novel that takes place inside a brilliant woman’s brain: the first season of Alias or Nikita, Margaret the First, by Danielle Dutton, Wing Chun starring Michelle Yeoh, Oreo by Fran Ross, My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante, G.L.O.W., Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff, any Marvel scene with Misty Knight or Colleen Wing.

Jennifer Kronovet : part four

What poetry books have you been reading lately?

Lately I’ve read these three amazing books: Hardly War by Don Mee Choi, Calamities by Renee Gladman, and Hey, Marfa by Jeffrey Yang.

Jennifer Kronovet : part three

How do you know when a poem is finished?

I wish I could answer this question. I’ve tried to! I know that I resist writing poems that close up at the end, but I also hope if you hold my poems upside down, something stays inside. I can say that I rarely get that feeling of boom, I did it after I finish a poem. And when I do, I don’t trust the feeling or the poem one bit.
 

Jennifer Kronovet : part two

How did you first engage with poetry?

When I was a teenager, poetry, to me, meant Walt Whitman. There is a certain brain state when I read him—an opening into what the lyric can do—even though I don’t see him as my poetry grandpa.

Jennifer Kronovet : part one

Jennifer Kronovet is the author of two poetry collections, most recently The Wug Test (Ecco). She is the editor of Circumference Books, a press for poetry in translation. She co-translated two books of poetry, Empty Chairs by Chinese poet Liu Xia (with Ming Di) and The Acrobat by Yiddish writer Celia Dropkin (with Faith Jones and Samuel Solomon). She lives in Berlin, Germany.

What are you working on?

I’m writing a series of poems about an island here in Berlin called Peacock Island. I’m hoping that writing into this place can lead me deeper into a knot I’m stuck in—a knot of history. I’m also working on bringing a book I love into the world as the editor of Circumference Books, a new press for poetry in translation. This book is Camouflage, by Galician poet Lupe Gómez, translated by the amazing poet Erín Moure. Working with Érin, and with Dan Visel, the designer/programmer/developer with whom I run the press, has been a joy through and through. I’m so excited to hold this fantastic book in my hands. It’s at the printer now!