Poet and children’s author Linda Drattell chats with me today about her new chapbook, The Lighter Side of Horse Manure.
Bio:
Linda Drattell’s poetry chapbook, Remember This Day, won a bronze award from Reader Views. Her second poetry chapbook, The Lighter Side of Horse Manure, is now released (both chapbooks are published by Finishing Line Press). She won a second-place poetry award from Writer’s Digest and was a finalist for the 2024 Atlanta Review Poetry International Grand Prize. Her co-authored children’s book – Who Wants to be Friends With a Dragon? – received a Distinguished Favorite Award from Independent Press Awards. Linda’s short stories and individual poems have been published in several anthologies and online poetry magazines. She has been interviewed on a number of podcasts, and her writing has been reviewed by numerous publications. She presented at the 2024 International Stichting Plotz & Laat Doven Congres (Federation of the Sudden and Late Deafened in the Netherlands) about taking control of one’s hearing loss journey through writing.
Linda holds an MBA from the American University and serves as board secretary of the California Communications Access Foundation and membership chair of the California Writers Club/Tri-Valley Writers Branch.
What do you enjoy most about writing short stories/children’s books/novellas?
I have written two poetry collections, and each has been a collection of stories that come from my heart. Each poem is a story filled with compassion; I spill my life on the page. In Remember This Day, I recount what it was like to survive a terror attack, to watch a tree fight against the raging waters of a river, to witness the death of a stranger, to respect the ways of the wild, to acknowledge the dignity with which my horse and goats aged. In The Lighter Side of Horse Manure, as I watch my horse suffer the aches and pains of aging, I share his humor and orneriness (and similar attitudes of his fellow pasture buddies).
I also co-authored a children’s book, Who Wants to be Friends With a Dragon?; the dragon’s experience reflects my own life experience as a deafened person who has had to relearn how to navigate personal and social relationships and find the inner strength to continue to be part of my community.
Interpersonal connections are very important to me and come through in my writing, perhaps because I struggle to maintain connection with others since I lost my hearing. I try to write from the point of view of the person or object I am observing, whether it be a tree, a horse, a police officer, the rural landscape, a farm. They all have something to say, and I want to know what they are trying to tell me, comprehend the essence of each of them.
Can you give us a little insight into a few of your short stories – perhaps some of your favorites?
I suppose my favorite stories – poems, in this case – are the ones that have resonated with readers. I love connecting with others, and when I do so it means the world to me. My poem, “The Torrent and the Tree,” has had a strong impact on two women who are each undergoing cancer treatments, and each said the poem gave them the strength to press on through the treatments. Others have said they felt the poem, “Promenade des Anglais,” was especially powerful for them, and it was the most difficult for me to write as it describes my husband and I surviving the Nice (France) terror attack in 2016 on Bastille Day. Others have enjoyed the humor of my most recent poetry collection, The Lighter Side of Horse Manure, and have told me that they delight in reading and re-reading the poems. The one I especially enjoyed writing from that collection is, “I Imagine Him Saying Thank You.” It was when I was cleaning his stall, once again, and he gave me this quizzical look like, “Why are you doing this… I wouldn’t be doing this.” And others have told me they love the poem, “Compliment,” which I wrote after a friend told me a man described her hair as a horse’s tail from behind.
What genre are you inspired to write in the most? Why?
I have written a couple of short stories and flash fiction, and am working on a full-length novel, but I seem to be constantly driven back to poetry. It is a wonderful genre where there are so many forms; you can do so many things with words, spaces, lines. It’s just an amazing way to express oneself.
What exciting story are you working on next?
I am working on a full-length novel. A satire about suburban small-mindedness and obsessiveness with control, an immigrant woman from an unnamed country finds herself snubbed by both her insensitive, cheating American husband and the community she lands in, struggles to find her way, and in the struggle builds a community around her.
I am also working on a new chapbook of poems related to becoming deaf. Many of the poems have been published individually.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I think I first considered myself a writer when I was a teenager. I was constantly writing poems, one of which is included in my first poetry collection, Remember This Day.
How do you research markets for your work, perhaps as some advice for writers?
I mainly go to Poets & Writers Magazine (pw.org.) I also joined X when it was Twitter and started following literary magazines and other writers, becoming aware of submissions that way as well. There are conferences where you can network, such as AWP, Bay Area Book Festival, and the San Francisco Writers Conference. I am a member of the California Writers Club, which has chapters all over the state, and provides a lot of information about local contests and publishing opportunities. I have also recently discovered the California State Poetry Society, which is a member of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies (membership provides additional opportunities for publication.) Being from the San Francisco Bay Area, these have been where I reach out to for potential literary markets.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I’m not one of those people who write every day, though many suggest writing at least fifteen minutes a day. I usually get inspired suddenly by a poetry or flash fiction form and then I’m off running – I can’t stop writing until I’ve finished my thought on paper. Unfortunately, that means I may forget the water boiling on the stove.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Oh, it’s been so long ago, I don’t really remember, but probably a writer.
Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
Mainly, if you want to write, don’t let anyone tell you that you aren’t skilled enough or trained enough. There are so many popular writers who broke the rules.
Thank you so much for interviewing me, Lisa! This was a wonderful experience, and I hope people will enjoy the poetry in my collection. In addition to being available for purchase from Finishing Line Press, my books are also available for purchase from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and any local bookstore. I am available to respond to any comments from your readers.