Trisia Eddy Woods discusses compound imagery, reciprocal communication, and A Road Map for Finding Wild Horses in our latest Quatrain Questions interview.
Q?: Throughout A Road Map for Finding Wild Horses you explore a variety of poetic forms. While working on a poem do you intentionally set out to work in a certain form or does the material you are exploring dictate the shape and structure of the piece on the page? Do certain forms allow for different explorations?
It is very rarely that I set out to work with a particular form, and far more often that I allow the subject matter, the words I am using, or the imagery I am attempting to evoke guide the structure of the piece. While editing, I will read and re-read aloud in order to hear what line breaks and breath do to the piece. I consider visual as well as emotional impact. Perhaps there is a story to be told, or a moment to be absorbed. What would I, as a reader, receive when reading the poem?
Q?: '[O]wl-light' is a lovely turn of phrase. What do you consider when building compound imagery?
To me these are expressions of observation and sensation being held together like two stones in the palm of the hand. An attempt to convey both what my eyes are absorbing and what the heart is feeling. So often our experiences in nature are layered; whether it is with light or colour, or emotion and perception. It reminds me of the way in which a piece of music will have small moments where the brain and body connect to both tone and rhythm, as though it feels familiar, even if we’ve never heard it before.
Q?: The last poem in your collection is titled 'Long exposure', a nod to both your photography practice and to some of the complex topics you explore throughout your work. Other poem titles include 'Notes on softening,' and 'Light sources.' How does your photography practice influence your poetry and vice versa?
This is a conversation I have had with friends who are also writers, as well as artists of various other mediums; the idea that artistic expression can inspire across a continuum, whether it is theatre, film, photography, dance, painting, music. In many ways it helps you feel encompassed by a sort of greater creative consciousness that exists whether you are expressing yourself in a chosen form, or exploring another as a new practice. For myself, I find that photography and writing exist in my mind as a method of reciprocal communication. Some days I feel capable of putting words on the page, while on others I am drawn to a particular aspect of the light and shadow that evening, and feel compelled to try and immortalize it with the camera. In moving back and forth between the two forms, it often seems as though they relate to one another the same way two friends can talk for hours after not having seen each other in several weeks. Picking up where they last left off, with little empty space.
Q?: Many of the pieces in A Road Map for Finding Wild Horses consider environmental concerns. What do you hope your readers take away from the book in this regard?
The landscape explored in the book is unique in the sense that it is incredibly vast and for the most part very remote, yet at the same time is conflicted with the presence of heavy industry. It is jarring to see the effects of forestry, mining, oil and gas, and ranching in the midst of such rugged beauty. There is a sense of something being hidden; when you are surrounded by what seems like unending pristine forest, one could imagine that the concerns of anthropogenic climate change are far off. Yet observe closely, and you begin to notice how, for instance, cutblocks disturb the stability of the foothill region. Erosion in these areas carves large slides which encourage sediment to wash into the river below, the same river which supplies drinking water to the entire Southern region of the province.
For so long we have held a vision of the wilderness as a place that had the capacity to absorb our consumption, and here you can observe how tenuous our relationship with the environment really is. Regions of abundance are being depleted of water, fuel, and building supplies, and reflecting our lack of concern in what feels like an emotional plea. I hope that readers feel the sense of urgency, as well as a reminder, or even a deepening, of regard for the land they find themselves living on.
About A Road Map for Finding Wild Horses
E]xactly what the world needs right now —Shawna Lemay
Alongside the dramatic views of the Rocky Mountains lies a precarious ecosystem impacted by the industrial pressures of mining, forestry, ranching, and oil and gas extraction. Alberta’s wild horse herds can be found roaming these eastern slopes, existing in a liminal space as both wild animal and the domesticated companion we have shared so much of our history with.
A Road Map for Finding Wild Horses is written as a response to the intersections of human, animal, and land that occur while exploring this landscape as a woman alone. The horses offer a reflection on our relationship with nature, particularly now as we witness the impending effects of a climate crisis. We are reminded of the ways in which opening ourselves up to listening, whether to others or to ourselves, makes us tenderly aware of both beauty and loss.
wild horses ask: why are you a stranger to your body?
i reply, the earth hurts.