Book Interview: Time Wears Boots & other poems by Shay Rose
Shay Rose is pursuing a PhD in Biochemistry in Galway, Ireland. Poetry keeps her sane. She uses it throughout her day in the lab, reading and writing during incubation times. Science poetry makes up a large part of her personal writing, and has also spurred an involvement in the online poetry journal Consilience, which publishes peer-reviewed science poetry. However, not all poetry is science-inspired; much is heavily influenced by childhood summers spent at her grandparent’s ranch in Montana, her journey between jobs and countries, and musings on philosophy, religion, and art. She is a highly intuitive writer, hardly ever following set forms, but instead ‘panning for gold,’ until the words left on the page are meant to be there. Shay Rose’s use of experimental forms such as ellipses, dashes, and highly repetitive synonyms throughout her writing attempts to mimic the speed of thought and rethought that occurs in an active mind. She believes that in order for there to be shadows, there must be light to cast them. The darkness needs to be acknowledged, but the light is far more important.
Can you tell us a bit about the book you just published with Sunday Mornings at the River?
This collection of poetry centers around a single narrator, who reflects on (her) life and yearns for more. This is a story about the emotional swings experienced when she realizes that in order to pursue everything she wants to in her life, change needs to occur. The narrator is stagnant throughout the work—almost no action occurs in these poems—but the lack of external movement is juxtaposed sharply by inner turmoil and brilliant realizations. Slowly, she comes to grips with several facts: she doesn't like her job—she quits and finds a new one; she misses her childhood—she learns to act wild and joyful; she is lonely—she starts to open up to people and relationships. Tinged with science and abstractions, and my experimental use of form, this is a book of poetry about yearning and dreaming, and realizing that there are ways to better yourself; a book of poetry about intricate knots and forgotten curiosities. It is intrinsically optimistic, even as it tackles the darkness.
What inspired you to write this book?
I have over four hundred poems, and it's about time I start to share them. This particular chapbook is composed of the poems that all seemed to hold a common theme of stagnancy and growth.
What does the title mean, and why did you pick it?
“Time Wears Boots,” draws inspiration from the inexorable marching of time, and the sense of purpose and mortality that it gives us. The first poem I knew belonged to this chapbook was ‘Mortality of a Stone,’ which I wrote after hiking through County Clare, in Ireland, with the cracked and flaking limestone under my boots.
This collection of poetry is my first, and as such, is eclectic in its timeline. The oldest poem is ‘Paprika,’ which I wrote over ten years ago. The sense of change and growth that I feel is very present in this work reflects the span of time over which the poems were written. “Time Wears Boots” is therefore reflective of time passing, but also about how Time is tough and down-to-earth.
Who are some of your literary or artistic crushes, and did they influence you at all while writing this book?
A local poet where I went to college–Robyn Schiff–inspired a lot of my understanding of books of poetry. I’ve of course read poetry before, but hers was the first that I read as complete collections that were coherent within themselves.
What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?
I am no longer the girl who wrote these poems. In writing them, I expunge the feeling from myself, and become distant to it. The pain, the loneliness, the lack of direction, are all things that I write about, and in writing about, no longer feel them.
What is the key theme and/or message in the book?
That there is happiness. Of course there are other things too, but the most important is being able to orientate yourself towards the good. The poems progress throughout the chapbook to give a sense of resolution to a lot of the darker feelings.
What is the first book that made you cry?
Where the Red Fern Grows. It is a 1961 children's novel by Wilson Rawls about a boy who buys and trains two Redbone Coonhounds for hunting. The book is a work of autobiographical fiction based on Rawls' own childhood in the Ozarks.
What are common traps for aspiring writers?
To judge your own work. You never know what someone needs to read.