Marjorie Maddox - Author Interview

 1. Tell us a little about yourself.

I’ve always wanted to be a writer, at least after my little-girl desires to be a combination ballerina (I’m a klutz) and farmer (I kill everything I try to grow). I was fortunate to grow up in a supportive family,

who encouraged reading and writing, and I published my first poem in Campfire Girl Magazine when I was 8. (It was not great, but I persisted.) You may read more about my poetry journey here: https://medium.com/authority-magazine/professor-marjorie-maddox-of-lock-haven-university-five-things-you-need-to-write-powerful-and-12967b3a8748

I received my M.A. in English with a Creative Thesis at the University of Louisville and was Sage Graduate Fellow at Cornell, earning an MFA. I have been Professor of English and Creative Writing for over 30 years at Lock Haven University in Pennsylvania and have published 11 collections of poetry—including Transplant, Transport, Transubstantiation (Yellowglen Prize); True, False, None of the Above (Illumination Book Award Medalist); Local News from Someplace Else; Perpendicular As I (Sandstone Book Award)—the short story collection What She Was Saying (Fomite); four children’s and YA books—including  Inside Out: Poems on Writing and Readiing Poems with Insider Exercises (Finalist Children’s Educational Category 2020 International Book Awards) and A Crossing of Zebras: Animal Packs in Poetry, Rules of the Game: Baseball Poems , I’m Feeling Blue, Too! (an NCTE 2021 Notable Poetry Book)—Common Wealth: Contemporary Poets on Pennsylvania (co-editor); Presence (assistant editor); and 650+ stories, essays, and poems in journals and anthologies. I am the great grandniece of Branch Rickey, the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers who helped break the color barrier by signing Jackie Robinson to Major League Baseball. My husband and I live in Williamsport, PA, home of the Little League World Series. We recently became empty nesters, with our historian son and artist daughter graduated from college and out in the “real” world!

The chair of the jury of judges for the 2020 Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Book Award, I love giving in-person and Zoom readings and workshops around the country. In addition, I’m delighted that my book Begin with a Question (Paraclete Press), as well as my ekphrastic collaboration with photographer Karen Elias, Heart Speaks, Is Spoken For (Shanti Arts), are forthcoming in 2022. For more information, please see www.marjoriemaddox.com 

 

2. Tell us a bit about your newest books.

With my perfect timing (not), I had two books published in 2020 during the pandemic. Still, I’m very excited to have these books in the hands of children, tweens, teachers, and lovers of poetry.

Inside Out: Poems on Writing and Readiing Poems with Insider Exercises (Finalist Children’s Educational Category 2020 International Book Awards)

Based on my 30+ years as a teacher of poetry at the university, secondary, and primary levels, this book was a lot of fun to write! Inside Out: Poems on Writing and Reading Poems teaches writing from inside the poem, with plenty of tips and tricks for first-time poets, avid authors, students, and teachers.  Chat with Personification, dance with Iambic, fish with Sestina, and text with Triolet. In twenty-seven poems and Insider Exercises, this book jump-starts your writing. (Young adults, 8—14, and their teachers).

Want to know more? Here’s a quick video introduction to the book: https://youtu.be/BGuuoKoxT9M

And you may find lots of reviews and recordings here: http://www.marjoriemaddox.com/inside-out-description-and-reviews

I’m Feeling Blue, Too! (an NCTE 2021 Notable Poetry Book)

Illustrator Philip Huber and I collaborated on an earlier book A Crossing of Zebras: Animal Packs in Poetry, a lively interactive book on collective nouns. It was great fun to join forces again for I’m Feeling Blue, Too!

I’m Feeling Blue, Too!—with its twelve riddle poems and fourteen illustrations—turns the “can’t-do-nothing” blues into an exciting exploration of inspiring color. Climb inside a spinning bubble, grab some sky from high above a trampoline, dive into the swirling ocean waves, stack a tower of dreams, and ride far into the night with a courageous knight. This book encourages kids to stop moping and start looking. In this book, the riddles and action all focus on the color blue. The book was named a 2021 Notable Book of Poetry by the National Council of Teachers of English.

Here’s a brief video introduction: https://youtu.be/Sqdd59c4cW8 and here’s a discussion with both the author and illustrator: https://www.dropbox.com/s/qa5m87fcv9v5n0h/2020-06-22-author%20event%20%281%29.mp4?dl=0

For additional interviews and reviews, check this out: http://www.marjoriemaddox.com/new-page-4

3. What inspires your writing?

The short answer is “life.” As writers—and as human beings—we are called to be witnesses of this world. And so, inspiration is all around us, whether it be a human interest story in the local newspaper, a small moment of joy, or tragic events of natural disasters and Covid-19. I especially am interested in the intersection of body, spirit, and medicine—my book Transplant, Transport, Transubstantiation (Yellowglen Prize)—focuses on my father’s unsuccessful heart transplant—but I also write about literature, teaching, and writing; art; baseball; faith; current events, as well as anything that captures my interest on a day-to-day basis. I write poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and children’s literature and am always switching things up a bit. I’ve got lots of projects on back burners, that’s for sure. 

4. What do you think is the most difficult thing about writing?

Conquering that blank page or screen. I’ve found it important to give myself permission to write a lot of bad poems before I get to the better ones. 

5. What’s next for you?

I am currently sending out a manuscript that focuses on my mother’s dementia, among other topics. The manuscript also explores the ways that we distort or preserve memory, define or alter reality, and see or don’t see those around us on both a personal and national level. Woven throughout the collection is a series of odes.

And I’ve got some new children’s manuscripts in the works.

6.  Where can we find you on social media?

Web site: www.marjoriemaddox.com

Facebook: Marjorie Maddox, Author

Twitter: @marjoriemaddox

7. Where can we find your books?

Thanks for asking! You may find links to all my books on my web page: www.marjoriemaddox.com

For my two newest books:

Inside Out: Poems on Writing and Reading Poems with Insider Exercises is available from Kelsay Books, Barnes and Nobles, Amazon, and Bookshop.com

I’m Feeling Blue, Too! is available from Wipf and Stock, Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, and Bookshop.com