In the Spirit of Poetry
an interview with poet, Laura Stamps
by Renee' Johnson
Laura Stamps has a gift. Well, to say that is an understatement. The
talented artist has has been quite successful, having sold her artwork
all over the world. While most artists find the ultimate satisfaction in
creating an eye-catching visual image, Laura felt that she hadn't opened
all the doors to her creativity. Dyslexia had been an obstacle for her,
but it wasn't enough to keep the award-winning poet/novelist from
sharing her irrefutable talent through her words. I can speak all day
about how talented she is, but one of her most divine qualities is how
she allows her spirit to flow through everything she does. From her
artistic nature, to the way she interacts with people, Laura's positive
spirit nurtures the words she speaks, writes, and paints. She has been
venturing on her path to success with the creation of her own publishing
company, Kittyfeather Press, publishing over 25 books of poetry and
prose. It's a dream of hers to become a Pulitzer-Prize winner one day,
and I have no doubt that her dream will become a reality.
Hello Laura! Give
everyone a little background on yourself. For those who are unaware,
how many books have you written and published?
I began writing poetry the year I turned 30. I
had majored in art in college and had built a business selling my
paintings and prints nationwide. My poetry art prints and posters are
still published by Haddad’s Fine Arts, Inc., in Anaheim, California, and
sold worldwide by Haddad’s and several distributors on the internet.
Anyway, my husband was looking for a new hobby, so I found a Writer’s
Digest magazine on the newsstand. It looked interesting, and I bought
it for him. But it didn’t click with him, so he tossed it on the sofa
next to me. I picked it up, and thought it was the most fascinating
publication I had ever seen. I read every article, and I must say that
one issue literally changed my life and career. I even learned how to
publish my own poetry books from a classified ad in that issue about
making booklets. But let me backtrack a little. Even though I had been
painting all my life, I still felt as though something was missing. I
wasn’t using 100% of my creativity, and it left me with an unsatisfied
feeling. There was an article in that issue about writing poetry.
After I finished it I tried to write a poem. It wasn’t the greatest
poem in the world, and, yes, it was a poem about one of my cats, but
after I finished it, my creative soul felt completely satisfied for the
first time in my life. Wow, what a feeling! I’ll never forget that
moment, which was also the same moment that marked the end of my art
career. Back in high school and college my English teachers had always
tried to foster the talent they felt I had for writing, but I am also
mildly dyslexic, which made spelling and grammar a nightmare for me. It
was easier to pick up a brush and paint a good painting. After I wrote
that cat poem I was determined to become a success as a writer. First,
I found my college grammar books, and I studied them for several years,
learning what I couldn’t in college about grammar and punctuation.
Second, I joined the Writer’s Digest Book Club and ordered books every
month on writing poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, so I could determine
which of those disciplines gave my heart the most joy. When I
discovered poetry was my destiny, I began to study all the best poets,
living and deceased to learn my craft. As you can see, I am entirely
self-taught and have never taken a poetry class or workshop. Yet I
consider those early years my poetry class. And I continue to read the
poets I admire, studying their techniques. In fact, you could say I’m
involved in an ongoing workshop, one in which I learn how to write good
poetry by example, in the same way most poets learned their craft before
universities began offering classes and degrees in poetry. 18 years
later I am an award-winning poet and novelist. I have written over 25
books of poetry and prose, and have created a successful publishing
company, Kittyfeather Press. Over 600 of my poems, short stories,
poetry books reviews, and articles have appeared in literary magazines,
journals, anthologies, and broadsides around the world. I’ve worked
hard at my craft and career as a poet, and I have been very blessed. No
doubt about it!
Most of your
writing has a calming, sometimes spiritual effect to it. How much of a
role does spirituality have in your writings?
I am a spiritual nature poet, so spirituality means everything to me.
It is not just something I do one day a week. It is a 24/7 lifestyle,
and it is who I am. Because of this outlook, I believe all my poems are
spiritual poems, whether they are feminist poems or nature/gardening
poems or cat poems. That’s because my primary goal in writing poetry is
to encourage people to slow down and notice the divinity in nature.
Therefore, a nature poem with no obvious references to spirituality is
still a spiritual poem to me. It points not only to the divinity of
nature but also to the sacredness of the moment.
You have some work
published in an anthology edited by Yolanda King and Elodia Tate called
“Open My Eyes, Open My Soul.” How did that opportunity come about?
Yolanda
and Elodia are the best anthology editors I have ever had the pleasure
to work with. I discovered the submission call for their anthology in
an e-newsletter I used to receive from upstate New York. I was so
pleased when they chose two of my poems for the book. In fact, they
chose the poem “Peace on Earth” first. Then one night in November I
found a frantic message on my answering machine from Elodia.
McGraw-Hill planned to publish the book in December. When they designed
the book they ended up with an extra page at the end of it. The
designer called Elodia, and Elodia called me, because she had originally
wanted to include another one of my poems, but didn’t think they had
room for it. Now that they did, she wanted to use it. That poem was
“After the Rain,” and it is the last poem in the book. I have to say I
am also thrilled with the placement of my poems in the anthology: one
poem follows an essay by Muhammad Ali and the other follows an essay by
Stevie Wonder. You can’t ask for better positioning than that! “Open
My Eyes, Open My Soul” is a unique anthology that celebrates our common
humanity, regardless of religion or race, and it is available at any
bookstore. I also sell it through my Kittyfeather Press catalog,
because my poetry is written for women of all faiths, so it works well
with my books too. Yolanda and Elodia are such caring editors. Elodia
promotes the writers and poets in the book on their web site and in
their monthly newsletter. They even sent us signed bookplates and a
Certificate of Appreciation, which I framed with copies of my poems, and
it hangs next to my computer in my office.
I know a few poets
who very seldom read their own work. How often do you read your own
work?
That’s an interesting question, and one I’ve never been asked before,
but it is more relevant to my life at the moment than you might
imagine. Once a book has been published, I rarely go back and read it
again, unless I’m putting together a selected poems chapbook, and I’m
looking for poems on a certain theme. But this year I am compiling my
Collected Poems. So I’m going back through all the poems from the last
18 years, rewriting the older ones and reworking others to create a book
consistent with the quality of work my readers expect from me. That
means I am rereading every poem I have ever written. And what has been
occurring is quite unexpected. So many times, recently, something will
happen, and then a line from one of my poems will come to me, and it
fits that situation perfectly. Or I will be trying to solve a dilemma,
and suddenly a line from one of my poems will flash through my mind, and
it is the perfect solution to that problem. It has happened so often
since I’ve been working on the Collected Poems that it makes me laugh.
My readers have always told me how my poems bless their lives. But what
they might not realize is that my poems bless my life too, and in the
same way. Isn’t that a hoot?!
Do you have to
have particular surroundings when you write, or is it something you do
anywhere?
Either I am very lucky, or this is just a necessity, but I write
everywhere, any time of the day, every day. I never suffer from
writer’s block. That may be because I am a nature poet, and no matter
where I am the birds are usually fluttering, the sky flows in various
shades of color, the seasons change a little every day, and the cats are
always doing ridiculous things, so I am surrounded by inspiration.
Because I am a busy poet and also run a publishing business, I only have
time to write in the morning before work and in the evening before going
to bed. I walk around every morning with poems folded in my robe, and I
pull them out to tweak a word or two as I feed the cats or wash dishes.
But my pink bathroom is my writing oasis, and the place where all poems
are created and finished. Early in the morning and late at night, I can
close the door, turn on the fan, lean against the sink, and work on
poems in complete silence, whether the house is in total chaos or not.
Everything I need is in a basket beside the sink, which contains a mini
thesaurus and rhyming dictionary, several notebooks, assorted pens, and
paperclips. Every poem and novel I write is tweaked in this bathroom.
And even though, like most women, I multi-task my writing time each day,
I still manage to create enough poems for two or more chapbooks or books
of poetry every year. Not a glamorous writing schedule, but one that
works perfectly for my hectic life.
Do you have any
writing mentors?
As I said earlier, I am completely self-taught and have never taken a
writing workshop, so I don’t have any mentors in the traditional sense.
However, I taught myself to write poetry by studying the great poets of
the past and present. And I still do. At the moment I am reading the
complete works (plays and sonnets) of Shakespeare and the Selected Poems
of Longfellow, and I’m loving every minute of it! But the modern poets
I admire most and the ones who have had the most profound effect on my
work are Mary Oliver and Charles Wright. Both are spiritual nature
poets, who write free-verse poems, but love the music in words as much
as I do. In the last 18 years I have collected just about every book
they have published.
What has been the
best advice you’ve received regarding the writing industry and from
whom?
Actually, what comes to mind immediately is sage advice I received from
someone in the art business, and it has served me well in trying times.
The owner of a wonderful gallery that represented my paintings years ago
in North Carolina once told me the key to their success was
persistence. They had never given up, even when circumstances looked
grim. By persisting, their gallery had simply outlasted the
competition. In business, whether it is the art business or the writing
business, you won’t receive better advice than that. I also value the
motto of one of my very best friends, Lyn Lifshin. When she faced
adversity early in her poetry career, she decided the best strategy was
to publish well. Consequently, her poems have appeared in more
magazines than the poems of any other poet in the small press, and she
has become so famous they call her the “Queen of the Small Press.” I
think that is a brilliant marketing strategy, and I have tried to do the
same, sending poetry submissions to large and small, print and web
journals. Like Lyn, I do not discriminate. And this strategy has sold
lots of books for me, building a strong base of readers who appreciate
my poetry. Currently, if you google laura+stamps or kittyfeather+press
over 250 web sites will appear featuring my poems, short stories, book
reviews, or art prints. Most of these sites list my contact
information, which means I’m easy to find, and translates into more book
sales for me. Be persistent (never give up, no matter how tempted you
are to despair!) and publish everywhere. You can’t beat that advice.
Sooner or later it will lead your poetry career to success.
I’m sure you’re
always asked questions about the highs and lows of self-publishing. What
has been your lowest moment/experience? Your greatest experience?
I think the lowest moment in self-publishing is similar to the lowest
moment in any business. That’s when the ads you placed or the list you
rented didn’t work, meaning they didn’t pull any orders or net enough
book sales to cover the cost of the ad or the cost of mailing to the
list. Losing money never feels good. However, business is a risk, so
you’re always prepared for down moments. Still, that knowledge doesn’t
help much. The greatest moments are when the ads and lists pay off
beyond your expectations, and your post office box is flooded with book
orders and checks. That’s when you know you’ve discovered another
magazine or list that reaches your market. A great feeling! The
letters I receive from my readers also rate as wonderful moments for
me. Hearing that one of my books has blessed someone or helped them
change their lives in a positive way is always a stellar moment. And
the stories are staggering, like the woman who told me the only thing
that pulled her through the horrible summer when her son tried to commit
suicide was a poem on one of my poetry note cards. Or another woman
whose pain from cancer treatments was relieved every time she read my
poetry books. There are no greater highs than that. Those kinds of
letters make the lows of self-publishing worth it.
What is your
advice to those who are thinking about self-publishing as a way of
publishing their books?
I always
encourage poets to self-publish. Poets must take control of their
careers. Too many in the poetry business believe selling poetry books
is a losing proposition. They think people don’t read poetry anymore.
And it’s just not true. Many of my readers never bought a poetry book
before they started buying mine, and now they have become poetry book
buyers. I think the key is to find a niche for your poetry and work
like crazy to build that market. Poets should begin by submitting their
poems to literary magazines and journals, which will add publishing
credits to their resumes and create a readership for their poetry. When
you feel you have enough good
poems
for a chapbook, enter a few chapbook competitions. More than anything
else, these venues will help you improve your craft and build a
following for your poetry. Next, consider publishing a chapbook at your
local quick printer. Don’t make the mistake of publishing the chap
first and then trying to find a market for it later. I never publish a
book without a specific market and marketing plan in place. Try to gear
your chapbook toward a certain segment of the market. Theme chapbooks
always sell better than a collection of unrelated poems. Keep this in
mind: for every theme there are people who like to read about this
subject and magazines that cater to this subject. When you are ready to
advertise, that will make your life easier. But this doesn’t mean every
theme guarantees a large market, or the people within that market will
have the money to spend on poetry books. The two don’t necessarily go
hand in hand. For example, you will be much more successful selling a
chap of dog poems to people who like dogs than you will a chap of
depressing poems to dismayed people frustrated with modern society.
Marketing is nothing more than common sense and psychology. Think about
it. Disgruntled people tend to have a hard time keeping a job, because
their attitude does not foster long-term employment. This means they
probably have very little money to spend on the poetry books targeted to
this group. Often poets forget this, and throw up their hands in
frustration, thinking no one buys poetry books anymore. Not true. What
really happened is that no one in the market you targeted has the extra
income to buy poetry books. Always consider this before publishing a
chapbook. If your goal is to sell lots of your poetry books, common
sense should tell you to choose your market wisely by the themes you
select for your poetry books. Marketing is one of my favorite subjects,
and I could talk about it for hours! But in the interest of space I
will stop here and say for those poets interested in selling lots of
their poetry books, I have written a report called HOW TO BECOME A
SUCCESSFUL POET, which is packed with more marketing tips and
strategies. Ordering information for this report can be found on my web
site at
www.kittyfeatherpress.blogspot.com.
You’re also a
fantastic artist! Does your writing inspire your artwork or vice versa?
I think it is more basic than that. I have always been a storyteller
and tried for years to tell stories with color and paint. But it wasn’t
until I began writing poetry that I found the perfect medium for my
storytelling talent. Now the art is just a means to illustrate the
poetry, whether it might be a painting or drawing for a poetry book
cover, or artwork to decorate a poem on an art print, poster, note card,
or postcard. Actually, I have been making my living writing and selling
my books for 18 years now, so I haven’t considered myself an artist for
a long time. I am a poet, who also happens to have artistic talent.
Did you have any
formal art training?
Yes. I majored in art in college, which means I took studio art classes
every year for four years.
Ok, let’s do
something I call “7 Words”. A little word association! I’ll give you a
word, and you name the first author that comes to mind. Ready?
Bold…….Charlotte
Bronte
Profound…..Mary
Oliver
Inspiring……Charles
Wright
Erotic…..(I
don’t read erotic books…sorry!)
Hilarious…..Shakespeare
Melodic…….Longfellow
Romantic……Jane
Austen
Finally, how
about two fun questions? What is your favorite perfume? What is your
favorite color?
My favorite perfume is White Shoulders, a
delirious blend of gardenia and lilac. I am a hopeless gardenia addict:
perfume, lotions, soaps, bath powder, you name it. I also grow
gardenias in my garden (no surprise there!). My favorite color is pink,
any shade, but I like bright fuchsia best. Pink is another one of my
addictions: nail polish, lipstick, clothes, purses. I love it!
Thank you so much
Laura for sitting down with us and sharing another part of you!
Click here
to view some of Laura's poetry
Be sure to stop
by Laura's site for more information on her books and artwork. Just
click the cards below! For a complete catalog of books by Laura Stamps
email
laurastamps@mindspring.com
