Smith Creative Writers Reading Series: Elizabeth Hazen
On finding inspiration in all she does not yet know
THURSDAY, SEPT. 17
Rachel Dunmire, a student in the BFA in Creative Writing Program at Penn State Behrend, interviewed the writer Elizabeth Hazen in anticipation of her visit to Behrend as part of the Smith Creative Writers Reading Series. Elizabeth Hazen is a poet and essayist. She currently teaches poetry through the Goucher Prison Education Partnership. Her work has appeared in Best American Poetry, Epoch, Threepenny Review, Shenandoah, and other journals. She has published three collections of poetry: Chaos Theories (2016), Girls Like Us (2020), and The Sky Will Hold (2026). She lives in Baltimore with her family.
Rachel Dunmire (RD): What is your first memory with poetry?
Elizabeth Hazen (EH): I first became really interested in poetry when my middle school librarian gave me a copy of Lawrence Ferlinghetti's A Coney Island of the Mind. I was a solitary kid and felt alienated from my peers most of the time, but somehow those poems made me feel less alone.
Before that, I hadn't realized that poetry could be so loose and accessible and cool. In particular, the poem "Autobiography" wowed me. After that, I started writing my own poems, imitating his voice. I was all of twelve years old, writing my own incredibly cringey "Autobiography." And I've been writing ever since.
RD: How or where do you find inspiration for your poetry?
EH: I often write to make sense of complicated emotions or situations, so many of my poems have come from reflection about significant experiences in my life. For example, in my most recent collection, I wrote several poems about interactions with my son as he navigated his teenage years.
Also, like many poets, much of my practice is observation, and I've been increasingly turning to the natural world for both solace and inspiration. I live behind Druid Hill Park in Baltimore, which is a gorgeous city park surrounding the Maryland Zoo. I walk there several times a week, and on every walk, I feel like I am gathering new ideas. Just this morning I saw the tiniest black snake – maybe three inches long and toothpick-slim. It had a yellow ring around its neck. That image is likely going to make its way into a poem at some point.
RD: What is your creative process when writing a new poem?
EH: Sometimes an image (like the snake) will stay with me, so I may set out to write a poem with that as a starting point and see where it leads. Sometimes there is a situation I am trying to understand, so I'll write my way through it. I also love using forms to get a poem started. Formal poems feel almost like math problems or puzzles, and I find it easy to get lost in that process.
Most recently, I have been working on a group of poems that chronicle all the things I don't know or understand – kind of like an encyclopedia of my ignorance. So lately, my process has involved noting concepts or situations that I don't understand – an infinite list of topics including things like spacetime, the naming of trees, how money works, and so on. Then when I sit down to write, I take that topic, free associate, then try to shape all that material into a poem.
RD: How has your poetry developed over time?
EH: I think I have become more confident in my writing over the years, and as a result my voice is more comfortable and natural. I also feel myself turning outward more when I write. My earlier poems are very focused on my interior life and struggles related to identity and overcoming trauma. Now that I am well into middle age and have worked through a lot of my emotional baggage, I am more at ease with who I am. As a result, I feel like my work is more open and, much to my surprise, more hopeful.
RD: What is your greatest wish or goal for your poetry?
EH: My favorite thing about writing poetry is getting lost in the process. It's better than any drug. I hope I can keep getting to that place in my work. I also hope I can continue to publish and share my work. The act of writing is so solitary, but the goal is always to communicate with others, and I hope I can continue doing so.
RD: What is some advice you would give to an apprentice poet?
EH: Read! Read all kinds of poems. The more you read, the more you will learn about your own voice and aesthetic. Take your work seriously enough that you will consistently carve out time to do it, but not so seriously that you lose your perspective or your sense of humor. Be open to discovering new things. Be patient. Be resilient. Try not to fixate on external validation. It is important to seek publication, but the primary focus must be on making the best poems you can.
Hazen will read from her work on Thursday, Sept. 17, at 6 p.m. in the Metzgar Building. For more information visit: behrend.psu.edu/readings
