Poet Interview: Amanda Roth
Amanda Roth (she/her) is poet, photographer, and former clinical social worker. She is the author of the full-length poetry collection, A Mother's Hunger (2021), and has been published in Rag Mag Revival. After nearly two decades in the Pacific Northwest, she now lives in Central Texas with her husband and two sons. Find her on Instagram @amandarothpoetry
When did you become a poet? How did you know it was the right medium for your stories?
I have been writing on and off since high school - emphasis on “off.” I was writing sonnets back then, angsty little love poems about a man I hadn’t met yet. I figured that writing was just a phase when I stopped it as quickly as I had started.
After university, I worked in healthcare and quickly became burnt out. Needing an artistic outlet, I started a small side-hustle as a wedding photographer. One winter, I was taking an online photography workshop. One week, my homework was to write some blackout poetry. I was very confused by the assignment, double checking to make sure I had logged in to the correct class. But that poem unlocked my hunger for writing once again. I’ve been writing poetry ever since.
What are you currently reading and is it a good read or not, why?
For the first time in years, I am reading multiple books at a time. My husband snuck a copy of Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer into my purchase pile at the bookstore. I’m reading it slowly and savoring every morsel. I’m also reading Erin Morgenstern’s The Starless Sea. My mom’s copy sat on my nightstand for nearly a year before I picked it up, but I truly believe that book found me at the right time. It is a breathtaking read. And I recently finished Doireann Ní Ghríofa’s Ghost in the Throat. I think that will remain one of my top 5 of all time. A must read for mothers who are writers.
What are you working on next/what was your last project, and can you tell us a little about it?
I am a part of a really incredible writing group (@writingworkshopkc on IG). Together with a few other mothers in the group, we are working on collecting poetry and essays on motherhood to publish in a zine.
Tag three of your favourite IG poets we should read and why should we read them:
I am so grateful to have so many poet friends. @jenniferstark, @justmelex, @thelandmaidstale, @poetjenharris, and @heathercmollwriter are some powerhouse poets sharing deep, powerful truths. I’m so lucky to be doing this deep heartwork alongside them.
What are some common themes you see in your own work and can you tell us why these themes keep reappearing?
I write a lot about motherhood. The year surrounding the birth of my youngest child was especially difficult. My husband was laid off during my third trimester, I experienced postpartum depression, and we moved across the country for a new job at the start of my fourth trimester. A few months later, the pandemic began. Many of the poems in my book explore the grief of starting over in a new state, the exhaustion and adoration that comes with motherhood, and searching for my identity outside of being a mother.
Do you believe in writer’s block and how would you deal with it?
Writer’s block has been such a struggle for me since finishing my book this spring. For me, it feels less like a blockage and more like I lost the thread of my work. I recently started a collaborative poetry collection with a dear friend (@jenniferstark on IG) and that has been so invigorating.
Do you feel that sharing your poetry is a vulnerable process, and why do you feel that way?
I wrote poetry for four years before sharing a single syllable with the world. I have always written just for myself, trying to put language to experiences and feelings in a more concrete way.
Last winter, I joined a writers workshop that met on Zoom. I was all adrenaline and fear as I cried through my reading. Thankfully, I had stumbled into a group that markets themselves as “aggressively vulnerable” and they have held me so well as I write and share. With their encouragement and prodding, I’m self-publishing my first book later this summer!
How many unfinished or unpublished books do you have, and tell us about them?
I have a Google Doc that gets added to constantly. I have no idea which of these poems will end up in a book. I write them, dump them into this document, and try not to look at them again for a while. In a few months or years, I will come back to them and see what they have to say. If enough of them seem to communicate similar themes, I will try to weave them into another book.
Do you take poetry classes or read books on poetry, and why (not)?
I am a part of a really lovely weekly writing workshop (@writingworkshopkc on IG). We aren’t strictly a poetry group, so hearing the depth and breadth of people’s writing is so inspiring.
As for reading, I don’t read books on how to write poetry, but I do read a lot of poetry collections. Some of my recent favorites are the works of Ada Limon and an anthology of Native Nations poetry called When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through.
How many finished books do you have, can you give us some details about them?
My first poetry book, A Mother’s Hunger, will be released on August 1, 2021. It is this winding pilgrimage through various landscapes - oceans, forests, the inside of my clothes dryer - where I explore themes around motherhood, burnout, longing, my inner wild, and curses. I wrote the bulk of it during the pandemic, mostly in the middle of the night and during my children’s nap times.
What is your writing process like?
I have a giant Google Doc that I call The Sandbox. In it, I have two dozen works in progress, a list of words and phrases that I like and want to use one day, and a few pages worth of writing prompts. Every day, I open up my doc and try to find a thread to grab on to. Some days, I can write. Other days, I just stare at it, reformat it a few times, and walk away.