12 or 20 questions with Ruth Daniell
“….right now in the midst of parenting two under two the first piece of advice that comes to mind is “be gentle with yourself.” It was originally told to me with the context of being kind to my postpartum body, but of course it works for the creative self too. Be kind to yourself, and keep doing what you love, and believe that it’s worth it, because it is.”
January 06, 2020. I answer questions over on Rob McLennan’s blog. I talk about why I write poetry first (as opposed to other genres), where my love of poetry comes from, what I’m currently working on, and how a poem begins for me.
Memory, Desire, and the Aural Imagination
“My process is mostly intuitive, especially when it comes to sound, but that doesn’t mean it’s not intentional. I usually attend to the imagery of the poem, first, and then sit back and listen. I read my poems aloud a lot during composition, and I can usually hear if something is not working—so then I fiddle with it until it sounds right. I believe that in order for the image to “look” right in the mind of the reader it should also sound right to the reader’s ear.”
January 2017. Kim Jernigan interviewed me for The New Quarterly, after my poem “Wedding Anniversary” won their 2016 Nick Blatchford Occasional Verse Contest. This is one of my favourite conversations.
Ruth Daniell – Poetry Grrrowl: Women of Feminist Poetics
April 10, 2019. In this interview some kind people at refer to me as “rad” (!) and let me talk about my love of poetry and fairy tales. And one of the poems I’m most proud of from my book The Brightest Thing is included in this feature on All Lit Up Canada–the first time that “Fitcher’s Bird” has appeared online. Please have a read and feel free to share widely.
Tinaja
February 15, 2017. My poem “Tinaja“–inspired by the artwork of Sonia Alins Miguel–is published in Word and Colour. “Tinaja” is from my current work-in-progress, a collection about birds, the natural world, parenthood, grief, and joy.
Wearing Tiaras
Febraury 25, 2020. I’ve got an essay on fairy tales and feminism up on All Lit Canada: Wearing Tiaras: On Fairy Tales, Community, and Happiness. I confess that I (a feminist) wore a tiara on my wedding day, and dive into the reasons I love fairy tales, the way I distrust some of the ways they’re handled by patriarchal models, and the ways in which I believe we can make the sharing of them a community-building, joy-affirming activity.
Love is not all: An interview with Ruth Daniell
“Perhaps that’s the truth the book is pursuing. Love is good. I want that to be true. It is true. But how we define love is not always good, and how we pursue it is not always good. That’s getting to the narrative truth of the fairy tale.”
April 30, 2019. I’m interviewed by the wonderful Rob Taylor at the end of April as part of National Poetry Month. It was published with Read Local BC, but I must confess that I did not do much to spread the word about it at the time–because it was published the day that my second baby was born. It’s kind of funny, because Rob and I talk about that during our interview: his wife and I shared the same due date for our babies #2… Rob and I were each scrambling to finish our (lovely!) conversation about poetry between the anticipated–and actual–arrival of new babies. My poem “Main Characters,” from The Brightest Thing, is reprinted as part of this feature.
Ruth Daniell at Words Aloud 16
November 2, 2019. I performed from The Brightest Thing as part of the Words Aloud Spoken Word and Storytelling Festival in Durham, Ontario. My second child, Henry, was only just 6 months at the time, and accompanied me (asleep in his carrier) onstage! You can watch my entire performance (and Henry’s, ha) on the Words Aloud YouTube channel.
Micro-interview for Poetry in Voice
Spring 2020. I answer questions for my author profile as part of the Poetry in Voice online anthology. I’m honoured to be a part of this anthology, which brings two of my loves together: poetry and the performance of it. My poem “Poem for My Body” is also available to read.
Schloss Steinau, Hesse, Germany
April 25, 2020. My poem, “Schloss Steinau, Hesse, Germany,” from The Brightest Thing, is featured on Poetry Daily.
Ruth Daniell 