Glimpses: A Memoir in Poetry by Carol Grever

Glimpses: A Memoir in Poetry mines four decades of poetic expression in the light of present understanding.  Distinct personal stages emerge through seven sections of intimate insights.  Particular interests and longings appear and change.  Mistakes chasten, crises strike, love heals.  Forgiveness brings recovery and meditation serenity.  Together, the poems offer brief glimpses of a full, varied life.  Readers recognize the human quality of these carefully crafted poems. 

Tell us about your favourite poem in the collection. 

 

This is like deciding on your favorite child, but I believe that I would choose “Quiet Time” in the Mountain Home section.  The poem fuses the serenity of the river canyon landscape with the calm assurance of the observer, concluding with the conviction that heaven, earth, and all its creatures are one precious whole.

Which poets do you most admire? 

 

Contemporary poets:  Mary Oliver, Kay Ryan, and David Whyte.  Classic poet:  William Wordsworth.

Which poets do you think have affected your own work? 

 

The most influential are probably Mary Oliver and William Wordsworth because of their close observation of “minute particulars” and their reverence for the natural world.

Tell us about your poetry writing process. 

 

My poems often begin with notes in a journal, descriptive phrases about details I’ve seen in nature or people or events.  These notes may simmer for days or even years before they find their way into a poem.  In some cases, the poem is nearly whole from the beginning, right there in my journal.  However, I do revise and polish, often after reading the work aloud to a writing comrade.

Why did you choose poetry instead of prose? 

 

I’ve authored nonfiction books and a memoir prior to this poetry collection. Still, I have always been writing this book in the sense that some of the poems in Glimpses were written decades ago—and through all the time since.  Sorting through reams of this earlier work, I realized that they fell naturally into roughly chronological sections, like chapters in a memoir.  With that file of prior work as a starting point, I knew I had a book! Then the work of revising, polishing, and filling in the gaps began.

Tell us about your writing background. 

 

I have an undergraduate degree in English and a Master’s Degree in Language Arts, both of which emphasized writing.  I taught English Literature and Writing for several years before a long “interruption” as a business owner.  Since selling that business in 2005, I have been writing full time and have been published in a variety of periodicals, anthologies, and academic journals and books.

Why did you choose the Colorado landscape to base your poems on? 

 

My move to Boulder, Colorado in the Rocky Mountains was a major turning point in my life.  It was a chaotic, emotional time, fraught with personal challenges and change.  The landscape became my inspiration and grounding as a writer.  While I write of many other things, I keep coming back to this mountain home as a symbol of peace. 

You use several different poetic forms in your work, so which do you have the most attraction to write? 

 

Free verse is my favorite mode of poetry because it allows more precise expression of thought, without the constraints of fixed forms or set rhyme schemes.  I do enjoy writing an occasional sonnet or even a rondeau, but I always return to my more natural, contemporary form of free verse.

What is next for you? 

 

Currently, I’m enjoying the fun of reading selections from Glimpses for book clubs and other interested organizations.  However, I’m always working on new poems, and eventually will gather another collection.  I’m always open to a new project!