An interview with Stefanie Wielkopolan

Stefanie Wielkopolan is a Michigan poet who hates suburbia but keeps finding herself in the middle of it. Up until the age of nine her parents owned Maples Bowling Alley where she spent her Saturdays tap dancing on the bar counter, watching cartoons, and eating warm ham and cheese sandwiches served on stale onion rolls. It is her time spent in the bowling alley bar that she credits for her love of a fine dive bar. She currently holds a MA in Liberal Studies and an MFA in Poetry. She teaches composition at Henry Ford Community College and is a Writer-in Residence for the non-profit agency InsideOut Literary Arts Project in Detroit. She is back in Dearborn, MI and is in the process of becoming a yoga instructor.

List for me any current publications and upcoming publications. Discuss your publication schedule for me.

I have a poem coming out this fall, “Border Theory” in the anthology “you say. say” by Uphook Press. I’ll be reading my poem from the collection on November 12, 2009 in New York City at The Cornelia Street Cafe. Come on out!

How often do you submit? What influences those choices?

I try to submit pieces weekly. Duotrope.com and the classified section of Poets and Writers are where I find most of the places I want to submit work to. I look for journals that are young and have an interesting focus. I love journals that have a quirky sense of humor, journals that aren’t pretentious or stuffy. Poetry should be accessible to all and I am attracted to publishers who follow that philosophy.

I really enjoy your blog, Hickory Smoked Turkey, how did you come up with the name and idea for the blog?
Ha, thank you for reading my blog! The title of the blog came from a poem I wrote a few years back about Thanksgiving. I’ve been a vegetarian for about 6 years but every year my Dad asks me if I want a piece of his famous hickory smoked turkey. The turkey really is delicious and smells fantastic. The blog is homage to my dysfunctional and loving family. I started it about a year ago. I had just graduated with my MFA and wanted an outlet where I could write and hopefully entertain my family and friends. I don’t pay enough attention to the blog but I enjoy thinking of new things to write about. As of right now it is an odd collection of “stories” from my Boston Terrier Emerson.

How much sass in that ass is needed for the writing of Hickory Smoked Turkey entries?

Large and small amounts of ass in the sass are desired! Your blog has inspired in me a need to have various other sassy poets on the blog. I am a huge fan of sarcasm. Any level of sarcasm and sass is welcomed and ultimately invited. Hopefully, I will start publishing various authors on the blog so that it becomes more than just a collection of dog stories. http://hickorysmokedturkey.blogspot.com/

What are some ways you get started writing poetry?

I wish I could say that I write everyday. I’m teaching now, so I have the entire summer off and it has been helpful in carving out writing times. I’m not the kind of writer who can sit down and start writing everyday at the same time. I need to go outside, go for a walk, or just take care of some daily tasks in order to get inspired. The grocery store, coffee and bagel shops in the morning have been an obsession of mine. They have an interesting buzz to them that inspires me. Lately the smallest things have prompted me to write. I’ve been thinking a lot about Berlin and our trip there. I started a poem about the self-cleaning toilets that we saw and the breakfasts we ate at the hotel. Many times past experiences will surface and I will find myself writing about something or someone I knew years ago. I loved living in Pittsburgh and miss the weekend mornings when I would wake up, walk to the nearest coffee shop and interact with people. The entire atmosphere of the city had a large impact on my writing and I still find it making appearances in my writing. I’m motivated largely by a sense of loss, I’m always in search of something. I’m also a person, ironically, who doesn’t want to be serious so I tend to deal with loss in my poetry with humor and sarcasm.

How often do you write it? Do you use writing prompts?

I use writing prompts for my students. I put a few random words or a phrase on the board for the students to respond to at the beginning of every class and I write along with them. This activity is one that doesn’t really transfer outside of the classroom for me but it keeps me creative during the school year. I’m a procrastinator and my favorite hobby is napping, so sometimes I need to force myself to keep writing, even if I feel like I have nothing to write about. When this happens I just open my journal and write down the first sentence that comes to mind. This practice hasn’t been especially fruitful for me but it has generated a few poems that I have a special respect for.

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