Poet Interview: Sean Tierney on his poetry collection 'Ground Pearls'

Sean Tierney is a poet and solar etched printmaker currently based in Florida. Born and raised in New England, Sean developed a love for nature that permeates nearly all of his written works. In 2009, he became involved with Ra Press of Vermont and released six collections of poetry in the Green Mountain and Adirondack regions. In 2018 and 2019 he was a contest judge for the Poetry Society of South Carolina.

Can you tell us a bit about the book you just published with Sunday Mornings at the River?

The modern world is so noisy, it's easy to overlook all the small, beautiful things in it. Whether that's a millipede, a blade of grass or a lonely feeling. But if you can up the volume on a dandelion, it'll simultaneously quiet all the useless chatter. With GROUND PEARLS, I wanted to magnify the minuscule and the lowly by discovering the poetry in everyday life. The poems I enjoy reading most are like bells of mindfulness. And writing in a similar way is meditative for me. However, don't confuse mindfulness with happiness. There are plenty of dark thoughts here too. Some of the poems are light and calm, but some are intentionally scatterbrained representations of a noisy mind.

What inspired you to write this book?

This book was partly inspired by a William Carlos Williams' interview on the same topic of finding poetry in everyday life, though I've always kind of written this way. His words merely helped me to gain a deeper understanding of why I love writing poetry and why I do it the way I do it. It's my meditation and my therapy.

What does the title mean, and why did you pick it?

From the University of Florida's entomology and nematology website: “Ground pearls, Margarodes spp., are primitive, subterrestrial relatives of the widely recognized, above-ground armored scale insect (family Diaspididae).” What better mascot for a book about magnifying the minuscule? Plus, the pearls in GROUND PEARLS makes me think of treasure. All the little treasures at our feet that we so often walk right over. entnemdept.ufl.edu

Who are some of your literary or artistic crushes, and did they influence you at all while writing this book?

As mentioned above, William Carlos Williams was an influence in this collection, as was A.R. Ammons. Stylistically, Ammons is the reason I became weirdly obsessed with contractions. He made them look so fun, I had to try it for myself. The music of Harold Budd and Eric Dolphy deserve a mention as well, since I leave them on repeat when I write.

What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?

Mainly, I learned about my own patterns. Which topics I write about when happy, sad or in a sort of existential crisis. I've been writing my whole life and never really looked at my writing as a whole before.

What is the key theme and/or message in the book?

There was no strict theme in mind when crafting this book, but there are a few recurring themes. Nature, loneliness and time appear most frequently. The peace I find in nature is only equal to the dissatisfaction and loneliness I tend to find with people. I'm not antisocial, but most people stress me out. Even as a young kid I used to tell my parents I was going to be a hermit when I grew up and spent a lot of my free time in the woods.

What does literary success look like to you?

Being proud of what I share and having a unique voice. In my twenties, I wasn't concerned with being good, I just enjoyed writing and making books with whatever popped out. I rarely did any rewriting. Now, in my thirties, I enjoy the rewriting phase more than writing itself. Once the basic idea is down I love to squeeze it like a piece of clay and hide little secrets in the lines that maybe no one will ever notice or care about but me and I'm fine with that.   

What is the first book that made you cry?

Probably Journey to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Céline. It's been so long I couldn't recall exactly which part or parts, but I remember not feeling great for a while after that one.

How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?

I have a novel and a ton of short stories that will probably never see the light of day. The novel is interesting at the start, then halfway through it's pretty clear that I lost interest and just struggled through to the end. I don't have the skill or patience for novels. Fun fact though, I actually ghost-wrote a novel for a client through Textbroker. A teen sci-fi. It wasn't very good, but I got paid weekly and didn't have to work a normal job for nearly a whole year.

Do you believe in writer’s block?

No. Not really. I'll sit there all day if I have to. Something always comes. Knock on wood.

www.stierney.com
@teleponeline

Get your copy of Ground Pearls here.